Earlier in the day, I went to Freshfields Farm and bought a 3-pound bone-in pork butt (pork shoulder) for Steve. He wanted me to make my Chipotle And Coca-Cola Crock-Pot Pulled Pork. While I was there I noticed sweet corn was in season so I bought 6 ears. I thought a sweet corn salsa would be the perfect topping for pulled pork tacos.
This recipe is gluten-free and vegetarian-friendly. I did include a few pictures of my Grilled Sweet Corn Salsa and a quick Pineapple Pico de Gallo as toppings for the tacos. Both my pulled pork and Pico de Gallo recipes are linked at the bottom of this post.
Typically you won’t find diced cucumbers in salsas. I grew up on cucumber sandwiches as a young girl living in England. I love the sweetness and texture they add to any salad. I’ve added them to my salsa and they’re really delicious in this dish. If you’re not a fan of cucumbers go ahead and leave them out.
My Grilled Sweet Corn Salsa is colorful, slightly smokey, loaded with a variety of textures, and bold flavors. This recipe, by itself, is totally gluten-free and vegetarian-friendly. Some might say this is a corn salad, I’m sticking with calling it a salsa.
In this post, I’ve included a few pictures of my Chipotle Coca-Cola Crock-Pot Pulled Pork recipe, for the pulled pork tacos I made for Steve. Of course, I’m using my Grilled Sweet Corn Salsa plus I’m showcasing a quick Pineapple Pico de Gallo as another topping. I had a large can of pineapple tidbits in my pantry, and I had extra ingredients leftover from the salsa, so I figured, why not. A choice of two toppings is always better than one. You can get both of these recipes by clicking the links at the bottom of this post.
As an added surprise and a little extra flavor and texture to the tortillas themselves, I’ve got a cool trick. I saw this technique done at one of my favorite taco restaurants and thought I’d try it at home. It’s pretty cool.
Tip: It’s always best if you grind (what’s called grated/ground) up the Parmesan cheese yourself rather than buying it pre-grated. Start with a preheated large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add grated Parmesan cheese to a large bowl. Liberally spray (canola or vegetable spray) one side of your tortilla (I’m using white and yellow corn tortillas for this). Dip the sprayed side into the Parmesan cheese. Transfer to the preheated pan. Using a pair of tongs to keep a close eye on the tortillas, allow them to cook for maybe 1 minute (peek at the bottoms of the tortillas every 30 seconds) or until the cheese becomes a light golden brown. Transfer to a plate to cool. Awesome Right?
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
3 cups of grilled sweet corn (6 ears of corn, kernels removed)
1 hothouse (English) cucumber, seeded and diced, optional
1 cup of red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 cup of orange bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 Fresno chili, seeded and minced, substitute jalapeno
1 cup of Poblano pepper, seeded and diced, substitute green bell pepper
1/2 cup of red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup of cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon of Kosher salt
1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons of fresh lime juice, (approx. 2 limes)
Directions:
Set a grill pan over medium-high heat. Remove each of the husks and any corn silk from each ear of corn. Snap of the ends of each ear. Liberally spray each ear of corn with Canola spray on all sides. Arrange them onto the preheated grill pan. Allow the corn on the cob to grill for 1 to 3 minutes (grill times may vary) per side. You’re just looking for those beautiful grill-marks on all sides of the corn. Transfer the ears of corn to a plate to cool down enough they can be handled.
Note: Don’t worry about the prominent grill marks only really showing up around the center part of the cob. The corn kernels are coming off the cob anyway.
Place an ear of corn with the pointed end into the center hole of a bundt pan. Using a chef’s knife remove the corn kernels. Transfer the kernels from the bundt pan to a large mixing bowl.
The English cucumber is optional.
Next, cut both ends off the cucumber. Remove the plastic wrapping. Cut the cucumber in half. Slice each half of the cucumber lengthwise. Using a spoon remove the seeds by scraping the spoon down the center of the cucumber forming a small well. Cut the halves in thirds then dice. Transfer to the mixing bowl.
Move on to seeding and dicing each of the peppers making sure the diced peppers are relatively the same size as the diced cucumber. Add the minced Fresno chili and finely dice the red onion. You want the diced onion to be approximately half the size of the other vegetables. Add the roughly chopped cilantro leaves, Kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, and freshly squeezed lime juice. Toss to combine.
Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill until you’re ready to serve. There you have it, my Grilled Sweet Corn Salsa.
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