photo by: Nick Krug

Roasted Corn and Jalapeno Salsa

Summer is almost here, and I’m starting to seek out the tastes and colors of warm weather.

Winter food tends to be full of browns and oranges, and while those things represent deliciousness like roast beef and pumpkin pie, as summer approaches I start seeking colorful and vibrant food — food that is joyful and spicy and fresh and crisp.

In a fit of desire for something fresh with kick, I made up a little corn salsa, which I have been eating for lunch every day with a few chips and an avocado on the side. I considered putting the avocado in the salsa, but then it would give the salsa a shorter shelf life. So I just slice it and pile it on the chips and spoon the salsa over everything. And that is the perfect lunch, in my book.

I love Chipotle’s corn salsa, and while I don’t claim that this is even remotely the same, I did begin with that amazing stuff in mind. Consider this a spicy distant cousin.

I love the flavor of roasted corn. In season, you can just shuck a few ears and toss them on the grill next to your burgers and rotate so that each side gets a little bit toasty and blackened. But because it’s not quite sweet corn time, I just started with frozen corn and dry roasted it in my cast-iron skillet, which is a decent substitute.

Roasted Corn and Jalapeno Salsa

Ingredients

2 cups frozen corn
1 Roma tomato
1 fresh jalapeno
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
Juice of one lime
Dash of green hot sauce (in my book, El Yucateco Salsa Picante de Chile Habanero is the only choice)

Directions

Heat your cast-iron skillet over high heat and toss in the corn. You want a single layer. While it begins to roast, start chopping the tomato, jalapeno, onion and cilantro. The key here is to dice everything as close to uniform size as you can.

Leave the corn in the pan and resist the urge to stir it for about 4 minutes or until it starts to blacken. Then give it a good stir and roast the other sides a bit.

Remove it from the heat and put it in the fridge or freezer to cool off. The heat will wilt the cilantro otherwise. When it’s cool, combine everything and squeeze the lime juice over the top. A dash of that amazing green sauce is the big finish.

This is great on nachos, or as a topping for a rice and black bean bowl, or inside a big burrito. But for me, it’s a meal in itself. And it tastes like summer, which is a really welcome change.