Golden Tomato-and-Corn Salad

We're pulling out all the yellow foods for a beautiful, monochromatic summer salad.

Golden Tomato-and-Corn Salad
Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis
Active Time:
25 mins
Total Time:
30 mins
Servings:
4

We call this one "sunshine in a salad." This cheery-hued salad embraces all things yellow—golden tomatoes, corn, lemon, and turmeric—to create a bright, summery side dish that's healthy and satisfying. Our Golden Tomato-and-Corn Salad will be a hit at any picnic or barbecue.

Made with yellow cherry tomatoes (like Sun Gold), this sunny salad is plated with a vibrant yogurt sauce made with the smoky-tart juice from grilled lemons and ground turmeric. It starts with an ear of fresh corn, which we char on the grill alongside halved lemons. Don't move the lemons around on the grill—they need time in one spot to really develop those grill marks.

That's all the cooking that's required to bring this simple side salad together, making it a perfect option for a cookout. The yogurt mixture that sits at the base of this salad can be made a few hours in advance and chilled until ready to use. Since turmeric plays an important role in the yogurt sauce, we recommend investing in a high-quality spice, like Burlap and Barrel's New Harvest Turmeric.

Ingredients

  • 1 medium ear fresh yellow corn, husked

  • 1 medium lemon, halved crosswise

  • 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

  • 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided

  • 1 teaspoon honey

  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds

  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

  • ¾ cup whole-milk Greek yogurt 

  • ¾ teaspoon ground turmeric

  • 10 ounces small yellow or orange tomatoes (such as Sun Gold or teardrop cherry [pear-shaped]), halved

  • 1 large yellow or orange tomato, cored, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced

Directions

  1. Preheat grill to high (450°F to 500°F). Drizzle corn and lemon halves with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Sprinkle corn with ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Grill lemon halves (cut side down) and corn, turning corn occasionally until tender and charred in spots, 5 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool. Cut kernels from cob; set aside. Discard cob.

  2. Squeeze 1 grilled lemon half to make about 1½ tablespoons juice. Whisk together lemon juice, honey, fennel seeds, black pepper, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and remaining 4 tablespoons oil in a small bowl. Stir together yogurt, turmeric, and 1½ tablespoons lemon juice mixture in a small bowl; reserve remaining lemon juice mixture for drizzling.

  3. Spread yogurt mixture on a serving platter. Top with tomatoes and corn. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ teaspoon salt; drizzle with reserved lemon juice mixture. Serve with remaining grilled lemon half.

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