roasted corn salad with bacon-chipotle dressing

Recipe by
Larry Cline
Midland, GA

The smoky flavors of roasted corn, chipotle peppers, and bacon just taste like summer. This is a hearty main-dish salad, with the heat of the peppers tamed by the cool smoothness of buttermilk and cream cheese.

yield 4 -6
prep time 20 Min
cook time 1 Hr
method Grill

Ingredients For roasted corn salad with bacon-chipotle dressing

  • BACON-CHIPOTLE DRESSING
  • 4 slices
    bacon, cooked (divided use)
  • 1/2 cup
    buttermilk
  • 4 oz
    neufchatel cheese or cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup
    mayonnaise
  • 1 Tbs
    bacon drippings
  • 1-2
    canned chipotle peppers (optional)
  • 1-2
    green onions
  • one clove
    garlic, pressed (or 1-2 tsp minced garlic)
  • 1/2 tsp
    salt, pepper, mexcan oregano, dried basil
  • ROASTED CORN-ROMAINE SALAD
  • 2-3 ears
    corn, roasted
  • half pint
    cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/4 cup
    white onion, thinly sliced
  • 2-3
    romaine lettuce hearts, thinly sliced
  • 4 oz
    pepper jack cheese, cut in matchsticks

How To Make roasted corn salad with bacon-chipotle dressing

  • 1
    Cook the bacon until crispy, reserving one tablespoon of the drippings. Set aside two slices for the salad.
  • 2
    To the bowl of a food processor, add the buttermilk, Neufchatel or cream cheese, mayonnaise, and the reserved bacon drippings. Process until fully mixed.
  • 3
    Chipotle peppers are smoked jalapenos, which come canned in a red adobo sauce (which itself is also pretty hot.) Depending on your heat tolerance, you can add one or two peppers to the dressing, or just some of the adobo sauce. If you don't want any heat, omit the chipotles altogether, and simply replace with a half teaspoon of Liquid Smoke. Add these to the food processor along with the green onions, garlic, seasonings, and TWO slices of the cooked bacon. Pulse until the dressing is mixed (don't overdo it; a little texture is nice.) Test and adjust the heat level and/or seasonings to your taste, then cover and refrigerate an hour or so to let the flavors meld.
  • 4
    Roast the shucked ears of corn on a grill until lightly charred. Slice the kernels from the cob (standing the ears on their ends in a bundt pan makes this much easier.) You can cut pretty deeply; it's OK if the kernels do not all separate from each other. Toss the corn with the halved cherry tomatoes and sliced onion.
  • 5
    Thinly slice the Romaine hearts and place in a large wide serving bowl. Top with the corn and tomato mixture. Slice the cheese into matchsticks (which keeps it from falling to the bottom of the bowl) and sprinkle over the top. Chill the salad until time to serve
  • 6
    To serve, spoon the dressing over the salad, and crumble the two reserved bacon slices over the top. Enjoy!

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