Grab the three best things in your produce section this summer and make this Fresh Corn, Zucchini and Tomato Salad. Watch the video showing you how to make this salad, then scroll to the bottom of this post and print out the recipe so you can make it at home!
Do you have any friends on that Raw Food Diet? That diet where you eat all raw foods with the thought that raw food is better for your body? I have to admit, I couldn’t do it. I cook and bake every day, and I kind of like my food cooked!
This Fresh Corn, Zucchini and Tomato Salad, however, may please everyone. It happens to be an *uncooked* vegetable salad, which is the kind of side dish that you wish for on a hot and humid summer day where the thought of turning on the oven or the stove is pretty unbearable.
In that beautiful salad bowl above, none of that is cooked. If that sounds weird to you, it shouldn’t. I serve up this salad at summer BBQ’s, and I don’t tell anyone that it’s a raw salad. And guess what? They love it!
It all starts with fresh corn. Visit your local Farmer’s Market and find some gorgeous, fresh sweet corn. The sweeter and fresher your corn, the better your salad will be.
How to Make Fresh Corn, Zucchini and Tomato Salad:
Shuck your corn and rinse it too, getting as many of the silky strings off as you can. Cut the corn off the cob. The best way to do this is to stand it up inside of a deep bowl like this one and use a knife to cut down the sides of the cob. The corn will gather into the bowl. This avoids the big mess you have when you try to cut the corn on a cutting board where corn kernels splatter everywhere!
Next add diced zucchini (again… raw)!
Then add some halved pear or cherry tomatoes. This time of year you can find them multi-colored, and they’ll be fresh and sweet too.
And finally, add some slivered fresh basil.
Drizzle in a simple, homemade Honey-Lime Vinaigrette and toss. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours to let all of the vegetables get nice and chilled and take on the flavors of that vinaigrette.
Sprinkle with a generous dose of salt and pepper, and serve!
This Fresh Corn, Zucchini and Tomato Salad just so happens to be dairy-free, gluten-free, low-fat and Weight Watcher’s friendly too! If you happen to be following the Weight Watchers WW plan, you’ll find a link to the WW Points on the recipe card below. Additional nutritional information can also be found on the card. And, let me know how you like it!
Fresh Corn, Zucchini and Tomato Salad
Ingredients
- 6 medium to large corn on the cob, shucked
- 3 small to medium zucchini, rinsed and trimmed
- 1 pint pear or cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- ¼ cup slivered fresh basil
- salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cut the corn off the cob by placing it upright in a deep bowl, and cut down the sides of the cob with a sharp knife.
- Dice the zucchini into ½-inch pieces (leave the skin on) and add it to the bowl. Add the tomatoes, and stir to combine.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, honey and lime juice. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to combine. Garnish with fresh basil.
- Cover the salad with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 4 hours until ready to serve. Toss again before serving to re-distribute the dressing. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper just before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was delicious! A perfect accompaniment to a BBQ lemon-basil marinated chicken. I added a little red onion, both for color and zing. Could also see adding a little jalapeno. I emulsified the dressing in a mini-hand blender, and added a little basil and garlic. Made it in a Tupperware (which I heard just filed for bankruptcy!) so I could literally toss it before moving to a serving dish.
Thanks much!