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This time of the year, it’s basically required to have corn and tomatoes, if not both, on your dinner plate every single night. And while it’s hardly necessary to add anything beyond adding butter, olive oil, or salt and basil to make summer’s two MVPs taste just right, I’m always on the lookout for a creative tomato-corn combo to add to the repertoire. Enter Amy Chaplin’s Tomato Salad with Sweet Corn and Basil Dressing…
It’s from her gorgeous vegetarian cookbook Whole Food Cooking Every Day, and every time I flip through it for ideas, I feel like spent a day at the spa.
Here’s how you make it:
Tomato Salad with Sweet Corn Dressing
Makes 4 side servings
About 1 1/2 pounds heirloom tomatoes (any kind, any size, in assorted colors) quartered or halved
1/2 cup sweet corn dressing, below
basil leaves for serving
Sweet Corn and Basil Dressing
Makes 1 cup (you’ll have extra)
1 large ear sweet corn, husked and kernels cut off (1 cup)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, plus more to taste
One 3-inch pieces scallion, white and light green parts only, coarsely chopped
One 1/2-inch slice of a small garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
Combine the corn kernels, olive oil, lime juice, scallion, garlic and salt in an upright blender or mini food processor and blend until completely smooth and velvety. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. Adjust the seasoning and lime juice to taste and blend again. Add the basil leaves and pulse until the basil is finely chopped. Use immediately, or store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to 3 days. Shake well before using.
P.S. Crispy farro and tomato salad and the most delicious maque choux.
(Photographs by Anson Smart. Excerpted from Whole Food Cooking Every Day by Amy Chaplin / Artisan Books.)
