Nectarine and Fresh Corn Salad with Chili Lime Vinaigrette

I know. I have said it before. Salads are my favorite food, and I just love them! They are one of the easiest, most versatile, and most delicious ways to get your daily veggies and fruit in one meal! And the varieties are endless! Coming up with new salads is always fun and have that wow factor if you are making them for an event. In any case, I love a good salad and today’s is no exception. Today’s salad is inspired by a favorite chili lime corn dish which I will post about another time, but today serves as inspiration for this flavorful salad. Chili lime flavor is so good because citrus and pepper flavors were made for each other! This recipe definitely leans towards Southwestern tastes with the chili lime pairing in this nectarine and fresh corn salad.

Since summer is coming, so fruit and vegetables will be plentiful which means I can make this salad a lot. Fresh, uncooked sweet corn is delicious and in my opinion should be used in salads more. The corn looks so pretty with the red nectarines! Feta cheese brings this whole salad together with its mellow creaminess. Salads that mix savory and sweet such as fruit and cheese are among my favorites to eat because of the explosion of flavors in each bite. Also, ingredients are easily added or swapped out here. Avocado is a good addition to this salad or use peaches instead of nectarines. I could also see adding some roasted sunflower seeds. Colorful heirloom tomatoes would also be awesome in place of the nectarines.

The chili lime dressing is my own kitchen concoction that is a zesty, sweet, and tangy blend of chili and lime and made from pantry staples. I like to run my dressing through the blender because it holds the emulsion a little longer. Also, as far as the oil goes, I notice that dressings with more oil hold their emulsion longer, so I stick with the traditional oil/vinegar ration as opposed to reduced oil. Additionally, chive vinegar is used here to add extra flavor. The recipe for that is here and it requires a few days, so plan ahead if you want to use chive vinegar. If not, just use regular white vinegar. And now to the recipe!

Nectarine and Fresh Corn salad

Make as much or as little as you want! Just eyeball it!

Good lettuce (butter or gourmet mix)

Nectarines (good sweet ones!)

Fresh corn kernels (cut from cob; one cob yields about 1 scant cup of kernels)

Feta cheese

Thinly sliced sweet onion

Chili Lime Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Arrange first 5 ingredients on plate or in big salad bowl and top with Chili Lime Vinaigrette.

Chili Lime Vinaigrette

Makes approximately one cup of dressing. Keep in fridge. Shake well before using.

3/4 cup of vegetable oil

1/4 cup of chive vinegar (recipe here) or regular white vinegar

1 tbsp. of fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)

2 tsp. of cane sugar (or honey)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. lime zest

1/4 tsp. garlic powder (roasted garlic powder is also good here too if available at your local store)

1/4 tsp. of onion powder

Happy Friday and enjoy your Memorial weekend!