This summer perfect fresh corn salad is packed with so many good things! It's drizzled with a tahini dressing and is also vegan and gluten-free.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 30 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Salad
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

  • 2 cups chopped kale (massaged)
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)
  • 1/2 cup red pepper (chopped)
  • 1/2 cup red onion (chopped)
  • 2 ears corn (husked and boiled)
  • 10-12 grapes (cut in half)
  • 1/4-1/3 cup walnuts (toasted & chopped)
  • 1/3 cup parsley (chopped, I use curly parsley)

Dressing

  • 1/4 cup olive oil (extra-virgin)
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 2 cloves garlic (grated)
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 & 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
  • black pepper (to taste)
  • 2-3 tablespoons water (30-45 ml)

Method

Make the dressing

  1. First, let's make the dressing. To a bowl or measuring jar, add the tahini and 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. Grate 2 cloves of garlic into the jar.
  2. Now add dijon mustard, maple syrup, red wine vinegar, cumin powder, salt and pepper (to taste), lemon juice and 2 to 3 tablespoons cold water Stir it all together using a wire whisk until you have a creamy dressing. You can taste test and adjust the seasonings at this point. If it's too thick, you can also add additional water.

Make the salad

  1. Take 2 cups of chopped kale, sprinkle a little salt and a touch of olive oil and massage it for 2 to 3 minutes. This makes the texture of kale softer and taste milder.
  2. Then add it to a large bowl along with cooked quinoa, halved cherry tomatoes, chopped red pepper and chopped red onion.
  3. Boil 2 ears of corn, I used an instant pot, placed 2 husked corn ears in the pot over a trivet with 1 & 1/2 cups water in the main inner pot and cooked on high pressure for 2 minutes. When the cooking cycle is finished, quick release the pressure by moving the pressure valve from sealing to venting position. Once cooled, cut the kernels off the cob.
  4. Add the corn to the same bowl along with grapes, toasted walnuts and chopped parsley.
  5. Once all the salad ingredients are added to the bowl, pour over the dressing. You will not need the entire dressing for this salad. I was left with around 1/2 cup of dressing, store the leftover dressing in the fridge for up to a week and use as needed.
  6. Using a salad spoon and fork, mix until the dressing is well combined with the rest of the ingredients. I like to let this salad sit for 30 minutes for the flavors to mix in together and then serve. You can also serve it at room temperature. It can also be served cold.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.