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corn and sumac salad

July 12, 2018 by Kathryn Pauline 10 Comments

Has it really been three weeks since I’ve talked about how much I love sumac? Well, don’t worry—I’m on it! This corn salad recipe is fabulous, but the queen of sumac salads will always be fattoush. I recently learned from Maria Bizri at Pomegranate Kitchen that fattoush comes from the word for stale, leftover bread. I think this etymology will make sense to most life-long fans. In fact, I recently started a conversation about it on Instagram, and just about everyone (including me) said that pita bread is one of the most essential parts.

But then, the other day, Izzah from Tea for Turmeric made my recipe for fattoush, and omitted the pita bread, because she can’t eat gluten. This got me thinking about whether you can really have fattoush without the pita, and I think I’ve decided that (etymology aside) the real key for me is sumac. You can change up the veggies, you can use a different crunchy green, you can have fun with the herbs, and (as it turns out!) you can even give up the pita bread. But you just can’t give up the sumac. Or at least, I can’t! Not everyone who grew up with fattoush will agree, but for me, it’s the make-or-break factor that determines whether it’s the real deal or just another garden salad with croutons.

Back to this recipe! Don’t worry, fattoush sticklers—even though it’s topped with lots of tangy sumac, I’m not calling this corn salad fattoush. But the sumac is just as important here as it is there. It’s the key ingredient that brings a salty, sweet, tangy, summery vibe to an otherwise standard salad.

This salad is totally adaptable, and if you’re missing an ingredient, feel free to substitute something similar. But here are a few notes on the best way to switch out certain ingredients:

If you’re not the world’s biggest fan of olives, you leave them out altogether, but I highly recommend giving castelvetranos (called for in the recipe) a chance. They are very mild and buttery, so they won’t dominate the flavor of the salad. I wouldn’t recommend substituting a different boldly flavored olive, because you don’t want the whole thing to taste distractingly olivey. Castelvetranos are my favorite to use when I want olive flavor, but I don’t want the dish to turn into an olive salad.

If you want to make this vegan, feel free to leave out the feta cheese. It compliments the other ingredients wonderfully, but it’s not absolutely necessary. Leaving out the feta cheese means the salad will have less of that salty, savory flavor, so if you want to substitute something in its place, a handful of well-seasoned sautéed diced mushrooms would work wonderfully here, or you could simply slow roast the tomatoes before adding them to the salad.

Feel free to use cilantro in place of some or all of the parsley (if you replace all of the parsley with cilantro, use a little less). It’ll change the flavor of the salad, but it’s delicious that way too. You could also replace the parsley with a much smaller amount of mint, dill, or basil (or you could just add a little bit in place of some of the parsley). But whatever you do, make sure you include the sumac. You won’t regret it!

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corn and sumac salad

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★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4 to 6 side servings

Ingredients

4 ears of corn*
Olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (300g)
1/2 cup chopped parsley (from 1 small bunch) (20g)
10 to 15 Castelvetrano olives, pitted and sliced into quarters (optional)
7 ounces feta, crumbled** (200g)
1 tablespoon lemon juice (15g)
1 tablespoon sumac, + more to garnish (or more to taste)
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoons salt, or to taste
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus more for coating the corn) (25g)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the grill or broiler to high.
  2. Coat the corn in some olive oil. If broiling, place the ears on a sheet pan, if grilling, place them directly on the grates. Rotate the ears when one side develops a nice golden color and a few dark brown spots, being careful not to let the whole side burn. Once they’re evenly grilled, remove and cool on a cutting board. Once you can handle them, cut the corn off the ears.***
  3. Place the grilled corn, cherry tomatoes, parsley (reserve a teaspoon for garnish), olives, and feta in a mixing bowl. Evenly sprinkle with the lemon juice, sumac, red pepper flakes, salt, and extra virgin olive oil, and gently toss together to combine. Serve casually in the mixing bowl, or remove to a serving bowl and garnish with the reserved parsley.

Notes

* You can substitute 4 cups frozen corn if you don’t have fresh ears of corn. Simply coat the corn in about 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil, spread out on a sheetpan, and roast at 450° F until it turns a little deeper golden.

** See the note above the recipe to learn how to make this vegan.

*** I don’t know why everyone always does this by balancing the corn by one point on the cutting board and slicing down the ear. I like to place the ear of corn flat on the cutting board so it’s pointing toward/away from me, and then I hold the knife so it’s pointing in the same direction as the cob. I then slice down the right side of the cob, rotate, and slice down the right side again (I’m right-handed). This is way easier and makes less of a mess. As always, slice away from your fingers, and hold onto the corn from the side you’re not slicing down.

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Filed Under: dairy free, dinner, every recipe, gluten free, lunch, meze, salads, side dishes, vegan, vegetarian, weeknight Tagged With: corn, feta, herbs, parsley, sumac, summer, tomato

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rebecca L

    May 18, 2021 at 1:35 am

    I made it exactly as described and it’s quickly become my favorite salad! Can be a light dinner or a perfect picnic addiction. Love it!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Kathryn Pauline

      May 18, 2021 at 10:46 am

      Ooh that’s such a good idea! Corn salads are so perfect for picnics 😍

      Reply
  2. Mary

    September 25, 2019 at 12:26 pm

    I was just wondering what to make for dinner tonight. I think you’ve answered it. Recipe sounds spectacular. Thanks for this❤️

    Reply
    • Kathryn Pauline

      September 25, 2019 at 12:30 pm

      Aw I’m so glad I could help! 😀 Hope you enjoy the recipe—it’s such a good one to make with whatever you have on hand

      Reply
  3. Mary-Ellen

    September 2, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    I just made this recipe to bring to a labor day bbq! Mind blown as to how simple it is yet SO DELICIOUS and original! Thanks for the inspiration and wonderful recipes as always!

    Reply
    • Kathryn Pauline

      September 20, 2019 at 12:39 am

      Aw I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 😀

      Reply
  4. Ariella

    March 27, 2019 at 8:08 am

    I made this salad for a dinner I hosted and everyone loved it! It’s simple and so delicious. I ran out of lemon, but substituted for lime… Worked like a charm. Great recipe 🙂 Thanks!

    Reply
    • Kathryn Pauline

      April 7, 2019 at 12:24 am

      Aw that makes me so happy!! And that’s so funny, I’ve totally made the same substitution once or twice with this one too—sumac lime are a match made in heaven, maybe as much as sumac and lemon 😋

      Reply
  5. Hilda Sterner

    July 14, 2018 at 2:39 am

    This makes me laugh since I just posted my sister’s fattoush recipe yesterday. I stated in the recipe that pita is a must! 😬 Sounds like you feel about sumac how I feel about cardamom. This salad sounds delicious by the way!

    Reply
    • Kathryn Pauline

      July 14, 2018 at 9:50 pm

      Haha I totally get how it’s a must for most (it’s even in the name!), but I guess I’d rather have a pitaless fattoush than a sumacless one, I mean if I haaad to choose. Thanks Hilda 🙂

      Reply

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