Roasted corn is the key to this refreshing summer salad

Backyard barbecues on Memorial Day are as traditional as winter holiday gift-giving.

For me, grilled burgers, perfectly sliced ripe tomatoes, homemade potato salad and corn on the cob always make a classic backyard meal. For the Fourth of July, you can snag some southern Illinois-grown corn on the cob. However, for Memorial Day, Illinois-grown corn is just not possible.

Corn is a key feature of backyard get-togethers. For Memorial Day, I came up with a roasted corn salad that’s fairly easy to make, thanks to frozen, organic roasted corn kernels and easy-to-get ingredients.

My recipe started as one from seriouseats.com that mirrored Mexican street corn (elotes).

Seriouseat’s recipe begins with four ears of corn on the grill, which is not that hard if you’ve got corn on the cob and have already fired up the grill.

I wanted to make this easy for anyone, even someone without a grill, and since I already knew I could buy frozen, fire-roasted corn, I was well on my way to making this salad. All the remaining ingredients, including organic feta cheese, were available in my kitchen.

All the pictures of this salad lacked color, so I julienne a medium carrot into matchsticks. This also added some important nutrients, like Vitamin A. Yes, it makes my salad not quite authentic, but it’s a fair trade.

In the last few months when I needed to mince garlic, I’ve turned to my handy microplane. If you are unfamiliar with a microplane (a rasp-style grater), Google it. I use mine to grate garlic, zest citrus (like lemon or lime) or grate hard cheese. Cheese grated on my microplane comes out feathery light and almost melts on contact with warm food. It is a great tool.

Cotija cheese is the cheese for Mexican street corn and this salad. It’s a fairly mild, tangy and somewhat salty cheese, similar to feta’s flavor. The difference is that cotija crumbles easily, whereas feta does not, and feta is a little stronger in flavor. I already had feta.

While my frozen corn warmed in hot water and then cooled in ice water, I stirred the dressing together in a large mixing bowl. Next, I added everything except the corn to the bowl and stirred it together. Finally, in went the corn, and I stirred and folded it until it was coated with dressing.

I tasted my new salad and immediately liked it. The corn makes this a sweet salad and works well as a foil with the tangy cheese.

Give it a try.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at 1leanwizard@gmail.com.

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Roasted Corn Salad

16 ounces (1 pound) frozen, fire-roasted corn (organic preferred)

Juice from 1 lime

2 medium cloves garlic, minced on a microplane grater

3 tablespoons mayonnaise (avocado oil mayo, preferred)

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

½ teaspoon medium-heat chile powder, or to taste

½ teaspoon black pepper

2 ounces feta cheese, chopped fine

½ cup sliced scallion green parts (save white parts for other uses)

½ cup fresh organic cilantro leaves, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into julienne sticks

Add frozen corn to a medium saucepan, add water to cover the corn, and bring to a boil over high heat.

While the corn begins heating, add ice and water to a large mixing bowl and set aside.

When the corn water begins to boil, remove from the heat, carefully drain and transfer the corn to the ice water. When cool, drain and set aside.

Add the lime juice, minced garlic, mayonnaise, salt, chile powder and black pepper to a large mixing bowl. Using a wire whisk, whisk together until combined. Add cheese, scallion greens and cilantro leaves and stir until combined. Add corn and, using a large rubber spatula, stir and fold until well mixed and coated with dressing. Taste and season with additional salt or chile powder if necessary. Serves 8, ½ cup each.

Nutrition values per serving: 118 calories (48% from fat), 6.3 g fat (1.6 g saturated fat), 13.3 g carbohydrates (11.8 net carbs), 5.7 g sugars, 1.5 g fiber, 3 g protein, 6 mg cholesterol, 271 mg sodium.

Suggestions: The original recipe suggested cotija cheese, which may be substituted for the feta.

To make this more authentic, add 2 tablespoons of sour cream to the dressing.

Smoked paprika can be substituted for the chile powder.

For some additional heat, add a fresh jalapeño pepper cut into small dice.

— Don Mauer