grilled summer squash & corn salad
we leave for south africa in 12 days, but i seem to have already settled into vacation mode. a good portion of my clients are off with their kiddos on summer vacations, so i've just been teaching a little yoga and working irregularly for clients who drop back into town. my partner is a school teacher, so his relaxed summer-break mood is also effecting my motivation to do anything productive. we've slowly managed to settle into our new home and spent a full day merging kitchens with our housemates, but mostly we've been spending our summer lounging on the deck of our new home with coffee and our house mate's cats and utilizing our house mate's incredible vegetable garden and propane grill to assemble meals worthy of opening a good bottle of wine.
i'm grateful we've had a relaxed july. it's allowed us to fully enjoy our one month of "summer" before we travel to the other hemisphere for early springtime in south africa. soaking it in while we can!
this is the first time as an adult that i've lived in a home with a grill. i'm convinced that everything tastes better grilled. i know i'm not alone in that thinking. since i have all sorts of free time, made and remade this salad of grilled corn, poblano peppers and summer squash - grilled each vegetable in batches and then cooled and tossed together to create the most flavorful summer salad imaginable. but since it takes a little while to grill everything, know that this salad holds perfectly well in the fridge - so you can make it ahead of time for a backyard bbq party!
grilled summer squash & corn salad ~ serves 6+
6 ears corn, shucked
6 small-ish zucchini, sliced into 1/4" strips length-wise
6 poblano peppers, halved and seeded
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2 limes - zest saved and juiced
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1-2 cloves crushed garlic (optional)
olive oil
salt, pepper & chili powder
1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese (optional)
rub shucked corn, sliced zucchini and seeded peppers with a bit of olive oil - just enough to thinly coat. salt, pepper and sprinkle with chili powder. heat grill to medium-high heat and grill corn, turning every 3-5 minutes or so until the kernels are lightly browned, then let corn cool to room temp. while corn cools, grill zucchini ribbons and peppers in batches until theres some good grill marks on both sides of the zucchini and blisters on the peppers. remove veggies from grill and let cool on a large cutting board or flat surface (try to avoid letting them pile up in a bowl where they will continue to steam and get mushy).
once grilled vegetables are cooled to room temp, slice off the corn and cut the zucchini and roasted peppers into small bites. toss with the zest and juice of both limes, chopped onion, garlic, cilantro and cotija cheese. you might add a bit more olive oil, salt, pepper or some chili powder to taste or toss in some chopped greens like tender kale or arugula.
once grilled vegetables are cooled to room temp, slice off the corn and cut the zucchini and roasted peppers into small bites. toss with the zest and juice of both limes, chopped onion, garlic, cilantro and cotija cheese. you might add a bit more olive oil, salt, pepper or some chili powder to taste or toss in some chopped greens like tender kale or arugula.
