I don't write a lot about vegetables. I'm clearly more of a sweets person. But this bright, flavorful Corn and Green Bean Salad with Lime is too good not to share with you.
We love it. It's a warm, all-vegetable salad, made mainly from frozen vegetables, cooked over medium- to medium-high heat in a cast-iron skillet. It has a bright lime-soy dressing drizzled over it, which really makes the dish.
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For Christmas I got a new cookbook, Deb Perelman's Smitten Kitchen Every Day (affiliate link). We've liked all of the recipes I've tried from it. As I flipped through the salads, I saw a beautiful picture of a charred corn salad, flecked with bright green beans and tomatoes.
It was February when I first saw the recipe. It involved charring cobs of corn over a gas stove, which I don't have. Besides which, I don't like cutting corn off of cobs; it always seems like a lot of effort.
I had to try it, so I adapted it and made some changes to make it weeknight-friendly and delicious in all seasons.
Ingredients and Changes
Instead of cobs of corn, I decided to use frozen kernels. No need to thaw them - they'll cook long enough. The same goes for frozen cut green beans, which I also used.
Deb's salad has crispy shallots. I loved them. But the calories didn't make it friendly for an everyday meal, so I had to cut them out. This also saved me from one more dirty dish. I replaced them with sauteed shallots or onions (both work) at the beginning of the dish, and cut out raw ones, which we simply don't like in salads.
I cut back a little on the dressing, as we always had some pooling in the bottom of our plates. The original called for fish sauce, which I don't like so I always substitute in soy sauce for it.
I skipped the basil as garnish. I liked it a lot, but whenever I buy basil, the remainder ends up going bad. Cilantro works fine, as does mint, as does skipping a garnish.
What to Serve Alongside This Warm Corn Salad
I've served this salad with shrimp on the side pretty often - I cook the shrimp in the same skillet after giving it a quick rinse and scrub. But I also think it would also be good alongside a thin steak, or maybe a thin pork chop or chicken cutlet that you've given a good sear. You could also try serving it over thin rice noodles for a summer pasta salad vibe. In a pinch, it serves two as a main dish salad.
I hope you love this salad as much as we do!
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📖 Recipe
Corn and Green Bean Salad with Lime
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 shallots (or 1 onion) (minced) (2.5 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic (2 cloves)
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)
- 16 ounces corn (465 grams) (frozen and unthawed corn works great)
- 8-12 ounces sliced green beans (216-320 grams) (frozen and unthawed green beans work great)
- 1 cup grape tomatoes (halved or diced) (about half of a carton)
- basil or cilantro (optional; to garnish)
Dressing
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce (cut back from 2 tablespoons)
- 4 tablespoons lime juice (cut back from 6 tablespoons)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large (cast iron) skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until browned, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, and stir to combine.
- Add corn. Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally but not often; you want to try to get them to brown.
- Stir in green beans. Cook for another 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, combine brown sugar, soy sauce, and lime juice. Set aside.
- Dish salad into a serving plate or bowl. Top with diced tomatoes. Pour dressing over the vegetables. Serve garnished with basil or cilantro if desired.
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