Roasted Corn Salsa

Any time I can put together a recipe from things growing in my garden feels like a personal victory, no matter how straightforward or simple.

The garden is actually a runaway train of weeds and overgrown lettuces for the most part, so it feels extra special to have pulled cherry tomatoes, jalapeños and a bit of cilantro from the madness. From there, it was easy to snag fresh corn from the Downtown Yakima Farmer’s Market and the freshest easiest corn salsa came to be.

With the school year officially kicking off this week but summer very much still feeling present, (hello, oppressive heat), dinner needed to bridge the gap between back-to-school fall vibes and easy enough and cool enough to handle on these hot hot days, which mostly just means, don’t turn on the oven.

We picked up marinated carne asada from Mercado Los Amigos on Fruitvale in Yakima and I threw this easy roasted corn salsa together. In the time it took to barbecue the meat, I had easily chopped everything for the salsa and mashed up a couple of ripe avocados for a simple guacamole.

We sliced the meat thin and made the best tacos, piling our tortillas with the delicious grilled meat and crunchy fresh salsa. It was a deliciously simple recipe and the giant bowl of corn salsa barely had anything leftover for the next day. I always take that as a good sign when there aren’t too many leftovers.

We sat around the table after we were done eating and talked a little about the highlights from the summer and what to look forward to in the new school year. There was a fair amount of grumbling about the early morning alarms and the inevitable homework and studying that comes with the school year, but I could tell they were excited and ready to take on a new year.

And, it goes without saying, this is an incredibly adaptable recipe to tweak to your preferences. You could swap the cherry tomatoes for any kind of tomato you like or skip entirely and use a couple bell peppers instead. Jalapeños could be traded for poblano peppers or you could do one of each and of course, if you hate cilantro, skip it completely. The grilled corn heightens that good corn flavor and slightly softens the kernels, but you could always just cut the kernels off fresh corn and skip the charring part. You get the idea, use this recipe as a loose guide, but make it your own!

Roasted Corn Salsa

• 6 ears fresh corn

• 1 large sweet onion

• 1 pound cherry tomatoes

• 2 jalapeños

• 1 bunch cilantro

• Juice of 2 limes

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 tablespoon honey

• Kosher salt and black pepper

Preheat grill to medium-high. Shuck corn and peel away any leftover strings. Drizzle the corn with olive oil and place the corn straight on the grill. Close the grill and char the corn, rotating every couple minutes until all sides of the corn are charred and have grill marks. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool off for five minutes.

While the corn cools, dice the onion and quarter the cherry tomatoes. Cut the tops off the jalapeños and slicing in half, remove the seeds. Dice the peppers and combine it all in a large bowl.

Laying the corn on a cutting board, cut the kernels off the cob, rotating each side until all the kernels are removed. Transfer to the bowl. Drizzle the honey and the juice of two limes along with a generous pinch of kosher salt and black pepper over the salsa. Gently stir to combine.

Finally, mince the cilantro. Garnish with the cilantro, gently stirring one last time. Serve alongside your favorite tacos and a big bag of tortilla chips.