Market Meals is a collaboration between Boulder Reporting Lab and the Boulder County Farmers Markets, featuring weekly seasonal recipes built around ingredients from local growers, ranchers and food producers. Find it in Nibbles every Tuesday and on Boulder Reporting Lab. Sign up to get Nibbles in your inbox.
Can you eat corn raw? Some of us may have spent our childhood summers eating fresh corn only after it was slathered in salted butter, wrapped in aluminum foil and placed on the grill. The most exciting part back then might have been the excuse to use ornamental corn cob holders.
As an adult, perhaps you have cooked with fresh corn by adding it to summer pasta dishes, turning it into elote dip or, for old times’ sake, grilling it slathered in butter. But something about eating it fresh off the cob, no cooking or slathering required, doesn’t sound right. There has to be a reason to cook it. Is raw corn too hard and chewy? Does the flavor just not compare?
But when Tuxedo Corn Company out of Olathe insisted that eating it raw was just as good as eating it cooked, we knew better than to doubt a local farmer. As you prepare this sweet corn and peach salad, you might be tempted to pluck kernel after kernel and pop them directly into your mouth. It’s possible that once you start, you’ll need to exercise some restraint to ensure enough corn remains to actually make this sweet corn, peach and avocado salad. That’s because fresh sweet corn, picked by your local farmer and sold directly to you, is perfectly sweet, crunchy and juicy on its own.
Palisade peaches came early this year, which means these may be among the last few weeks to enjoy them. The bittersweet upside is that late-season peaches just happen to be the best peaches. This salad is perfect for hot summer days when you’re craving something sweet, cool and delicious.
Sweet Corn, Peach, and Avocado Salad
- 4 ears Colorado sweet corn, shucked and kernels removed
- 2 large Colorado peaches, slightly firm, cut into chunks
- ¼ cup sliced red onion
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves
- 1 jalapeño, sliced and seeded, depending on your spice preference
- 2 large avocados, diced
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 3 tablespoons Boulder County honey
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Prepare the dressing by whisking together the lime juice and honey. Add salt and pepper to taste. In a medium bowl, combine the corn kernels, peaches, red onion, cilantro and jalapeño. Add the dressing and mix well. Refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes. Add the diced avocado and serve.
Flavor-saving tip: After you cut the kernels off the corn cobs, simmer the cobs in water, broth or milk and use the resulting liquid to make tastier sauces and soups.
What’s fresh this week? Farmers are bringing chiles, sweet corn, tomatoes, green beans, melons, peaches, carrots, radishes, sugar snap peas, fennel, broccoli and more to the Boulder Farmers Market and the Longmont Farmers Market this week.
You can also find the ingredients for this recipe at the many Boulder County roadside farm stands included in the Boulder Reporting Lab’s updated guide.
Visiting the Markets
- 13th Street between Arapahoe Ave. and Canyon Blvd.
- 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturdays, April 4-Nov. 21; 3:30-7:30 p.m., Wednesdays, May 6-Oct. 7
- More information
- Boulder County Fairgrounds
- 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays, April 4-Nov. 21
- More information
Have a tip or suggestion? Send your comments, questions and ideas to nibbles@boulderreportinglab.org.
