Grilled Corn and Watermelon Feta Salad, Sweet Meets Salty

It is 5:30 on a Sunday, the grill is still hot from the last thing you cooked, and there is half a watermelon on the counter that needs a plan. This grilled corn and watermelon feta salad is 25 minutes, six ingredients and no dressing beyond lime, and it is the cheeky one: sweet and salty, hot and cold, an opposites-attract dish that works.

Charred corn, cold watermelon, salty feta, and the sharp snap of lime.

To make grilled corn and watermelon feta salad, you grill four ears of corn until the kernels are lightly charred, cut them off the cob, and toss them with cubed watermelon and feta. Juice two limes over the top, season with salt and pepper, and give it ten minutes in the fridge. That is the whole recipe, and it tastes like a lot more effort than it was.

How to make it

1. Shuck the 4 ears corn on cob and remove all silk, which takes about 3 minutes.
2. Grill the 4 ears corn on cob over medium-high heat for 8 minutes, turning often, until lightly charred.
3. Cut the kernels off the 4 ears corn on cob into a large bowl, which takes about 4 minutes.
4. Add the 4 cups watermelon cubes and 1 cup feta cheese to the bowl with the corn kernels.
5. Juice the 2 whole limes and drizzle the juice over the salad.
6. Toss everything gently to combine and season with salt to taste and black pepper to taste.
7. Chill the salad in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Cooked leftovers keep three to four days refrigerated, per USDA FSIS, but watermelon gives up its juice quickly, so the salad is at its best in the first few hours. If you have leftovers, drain off the liquid at the bottom of the bowl before you eat.

If you want to prep ahead, grill the corn and cut off the kernels in advance, and keep them in a container. Cube the watermelon and keep it separate, then combine everything with the feta and lime just before serving. This keeps the watermelon firm and the feta intact.

It does not freeze, and there is no reason to try. Watermelon turns to mush once it thaws.

The ten minutes in the fridge is not a suggestion. It chills the salad, and it gives the lime and salt time to pull the flavors together. If you serve it straight from the bowl, you will taste each ingredient separately, which is less interesting.

A dish with sweet fruit, salty cheese and smoky corn is basically a first date that goes well. Each ingredient brings something different, and somehow it all works. You will want to be the person who made it.

Pick a watermelon that feels heavy for its size, and taste a cube before you commit. The salad leans on the melon being sweet, since the feta and lime are already doing the salty and sour work. If the melon is bland, an extra squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt will lift it.

Swaps that actually work

The grilled corn and the watermelon are the point of this salad. The char on the corn is what keeps the salad from tasting like fruit salad, so do not skip the grill.

Torn mint or a little red onion are good additions. Tear a few mint leaves over the top just before serving, and let the agent drop a watermelon in the cart so you can skip the part where you thump melons in the produce aisle like you know what you are doing.

Feta can be swapped for cotija or a mild goat cheese. Both give you the salty, crumbly contrast. Leave the cheese out if you need to, but you lose the salt that balances the fruit.

Lime is the right call here, and lemon will work in a pinch. Lime has a sharper, more floral edge that goes with corn, so use lemon only if the limes are gone.

If you do not have a grill, char the corn in a hot, dry skillet or under the broiler, turning it until it browns in spots. You will lose a little smoke, but you will keep the sweetness and char.

The swap that costs you the dish is canned or frozen corn in place of grilled ears, since the charred, fresh sweetness is the point. If you must, brown the kernels in a hot skillet until they pick up color.

If it goes wrong

The salad is watery. The watermelon released its juice, which it tends to do when it sits with salt. Cut the watermelon just before you assemble, and drain it on paper towels first. If the bowl is already wet, spoon the solids onto a plate with a slotted spoon.

The corn is not charred. The grill was too cool or the corn was turned too much. Let it sit on the heat for a minute or two between turns, and keep the heat at medium-high. If it has already cooked pale, give the kernels a quick sear in a hot skillet.

It tastes flat. If it tastes flat, it is probably salt or lime. Add a pinch of salt first, then a squeeze more lime, and toss gently.

The feta has dissolved into the salad. It was stirred too hard. Fold it in gently at the end, and add a little more on top for contrast.

What to serve with it

The default for grilled corn and watermelon feta salad is a spot next to anything from the grill, chicken, sausages, burgers or fish, since you already have the heat going.

The better version of the default is the salad piled onto a plate with grilled halloumi or grilled chicken, so it counts as a meal. It is a very good lunch with a protein next to it.

The thing in the fridge that lifts it is a few fresh herbs, a spoon of olive oil, or a sprinkle of chili flakes if you want it hot.

It does not make a strong next day lunch once it has sat, so make as much as you will eat, and save the corn kernels separately if you made extra.

Why this one earns its place

It is the dish that brings people to the table curious, and a grilled corn and watermelon feta salad gives them something to talk about. Corn and watermelon in the same bowl sounds like a dare, and then it tastes obvious.

When you swipe it into your week, the agent shops the corn, the watermelon, the feta and the limes, so the only work left is the grill. For ways to use a fridge without wasting half a watermelon, read meal planning and food waste. Then try caprese pasta salad for another cold bowl, and carne asada for something to put on the grill next to it.

More like this: all American recipes in Crave Corner.