Charred corn, courgette & cherry tomato salad with lemon‑herb dressing

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dressing: zest and juice the lemon into a small jug. Add the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, smoked paprika, half the sea salt and half the black pepper. Whisk until emulsified and set aside.

2. 2

   Preheat your barbecue (or a griddle pan) to medium–high so it’s hot and ready to char.

3. 3

   Trim the courgettes and slice them lengthways into 5–7 mm thick ribbons. Brush both sides lightly with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle a pinch of sea salt.

4. 4

   Brush the sweetcorn cobs with a little extra virgin olive oil and place directly on the barbecue bars. Cook, turning every 2–3 minutes until the kernels are charred in spots and the cobs are evenly blackened—about 12 minutes total.

5. 5

   Griddle the courgette ribbons on the hot barbecue or griddle pan for 3 minutes on each side until pronounced char marks appear and the flesh is tender — about 6 minutes total.

6. 6

   Leave the charred veg to rest for 5 minutes so juices redistribute.

7. 7

   Carefully cut the kernels from the cobs with a sharp knife: stand each cob upright on a board and slice downwards. Transfer kernels to a large mixing bowl.

8. 8

   Roughly chop the charred courgette ribbons and add to the bowl with the cherry tomatoes (halved), spring onions, red chilli if using, torn basil and chopped mint. Add the rocket, pour over the dressing and toss gently to combine.

9. 9

   Taste and adjust seasoning — add the remaining sea salt and black pepper if needed. Transfer to a serving bowl and finish with a small drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Tips

• If you don’t have a barbecue, use a heavy griddle pan on the hob over high heat — char in batches to avoid steaming.
• Cut the corn kernels straight after resting: warm kernels release more flavour and dressings cling better.
• Slice courgettes into even thickness (5–7 mm) so they char evenly; very thin slices will collapse.
• Make the dressing ahead and keep in the fridge for up to 2 days — bring back to room temperature before use.
• Leftovers keep 1–2 days refrigerated; refresh with a squeeze of lemon and a little extra olive oil before serving.

Substitutions

• rocket → baby spinach (same weight)

  Stays close

• red wine vinegar → white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar (same quantity)

  Stays close

• fresh basil → fresh flat‑leaf parsley (same weight)

  Noticeably different

• sweetcorn on the cob → 400 g frozen sweetcorn, defrosted and charred in a hot frying pan

  Stays close

Nutrition

Per serving · estimated

184

Calories

4 g

Protein

24 g

Carbs

8 g

Fat

4 g

Fibre

6 g

Sugar

250 mg

Sodium

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