Corn Salad with Caramelized Onions, Bacon, and Cilantro

This corn salad is a perfect summer party side dish. First, it can sit out for a while. It’s served room temperature and there’s nothing that needs to stay hot or cold (like mayonnaise or dairy). Second, you can make a big batch that people can serve themselves from, instead of something like a roll where people might grab too many.

It was a fairly easy dish to make, it takes a bit of time since you have to shuck the corn and then later cut the corn off the cob. But it really pays off. Plus you can make the ingredients in segments, whenever throughout the day. Maybe start off with making the bacon in the morning, then an hour later boiling the corn, and later caramelizing the onions.

The caramelized onions were amazing, Food52 described them as “purple jewels” because they turn out so silky and rich in flavor. Surprising that the onions stood out over the bacon!

Corn Salad with Caramelized Onions, Bacon, and Cilantro
Recipe adapted from Food52
Serves 6

6 ears of fresh corn
6 slices bacon
1 large red onion, peeled and diced
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Cook the corn on the cob in a large pot of boiling water for about 10 minutes. Drain hot water and plunge corn into a bowl of ice water to stop cooking. Drain corn and set aside to cool completely.

2. Dice bacon and cook in a heavy skillet over medium heat until brown and crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer bacon to a plate lined with paper towels. Set aside.

3. Pour off most of the bacon fat from skillet, leaving a little goodness left in the pan for cooking your onions. Add oil, onions, vinegar, sugar, and dash of salt to pan, and cook over medium-low heat. Cook for about 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently until onions are caramelized and most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove pan from heat and set aside.

4. Cut corn kernels off of the cobs and place in a large bowl. Add onion mixture and cilantro and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and if it seems dry, add a little more olive oil.

5. If you’re making this ahead of time, cover and put it in the fridge. Take salad out about 30 minutes before serving to take chill off. Stir in crispy bacon just before serving.