Roasted, Fiery Pineapple Corn Salad
Fiery, flavorful, fresh, and fantastic, this pineapple corn salad (or pineapple corn salsa, if you prefer) is perfect for the summer heat. It’s spicy and bold, with the zing from fresh limes, the sweetness of corn, and juicy, roasted pineapple. It’s all roasted together in the oven, limiting the time you’re heating up the house. If you’re not a fan of spice you might want to hold back on the chili powder, otherwise bring on the heat! Serve this salad as a side along with your favorite summer meals, enjoy as is for a light lunch, or scoop onto chips as a fresh and chunky salsa.
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Is Corn a Vegetable?
If you read a lot of what I write, you’ll know that this is a question I love to ask. Rhubarb is a vegetable, but okra is a fruit. Tomatoes are botanically a fruit, but legally (in the US) a vegetable. So while it might not really matter too much what’s a fruit and what’s a vegetable, it’s something I like thinking about. So here it goes. The first thing we need to do is recognize that there are both botanical and culinary definitions for fruits and vegetables. Botanically fruits develop from the flower of the plant, and house the seeds. Vegetables on the other hand, are all other parts of the plant- like the leaves (like kale), the stem (like rhubarb), and roots (like carrots). Culinarily the definition is based more on flavor- fruits are sweet or sour, whereas vegetables tend to be milder and have more savory notes.
So by those definitions it is largely agreed that corn is botanically a fruit, and culinarily a vegetable. Although I think its a little more complicated than that- as we’ve worked to grow corn more and more to our tastes, the sugar content in corn has risen. Now corn has about as much sugar by weight as raspberries- so does that make it a fruit? Either way, most of the time we treat corn as a vegetable- although this recipe also uses pineapple as a vegetable, which it is certainly not.
But if you thought the problem was solved- corn is a botanical fruit, but an extra sweet culinary vegetable- you would be wrong. Because corn is also a grain. When not picked young, corn dries to a hardened seed that can be used for human consumption. It is shelf-stable, as most grains are. Whole, popping corn meets the definition for a whole grain and a cereal crop, since they contain all three components (germ, endosperm, and bran). It can also be processed to make hominy (where the germ is removed) and even further to create cornmeal, which often has the germ and bran removed. Then it can be baked and processed even further.
So corn is sort of a vegetable. It’s a botanical fruit, culinary vegetable when young, with the sweetness of a fruit, and a grain and cereal crop when older. Corn really can do it all (and that’s not even to get started on corn syrup and other corn products).
Looking for Vegan Pineapple Recipes? Try one of these!
- Crispy Coconut Crusted Tofu with Pineapple Dipping Sauce
- Super Refreshing Ginger Maple Pineapple Seltzer
- Pumpkin, Pecan and Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Looking for Vegan Corn Recipes? Try one of these!
- Light and Brothy Vegan Corn Soup
- Cheesy, Spicy, Vegan Nacho Popcorn
- Tomato Masala Stuffed Spaghetti Squash with Corn and Spinach
- Baked Chile Relleno Cornbread Casserole
How to Make Roasted Pineapple Corn Salad
I love this salad because it’s super easy to make. You throw a bunch of corn, chili peppers, onions, garlic, and pineapple on a baking sheet, and toss that under the broiler of your oven. As it cooks, the pineapple develops amazing warm, caramelly flavors. The corn gets sweeter. The onions and jalapenos char and the harshness of the garlic softens. All that magic happening under your broiler at once. Keep an eye on it, and play a little game I like to call “broiler chicken”- it’s not what it sounds like, I am, after all, vegan. It’s just the process letting your broiler cook just long enough, without letting it get too far. It’s wanting to get the most flavorful, roasted, slightly charred flavor possible without verging into the “burnt” territory. I think the key is to wait for the top layer of the onion to be burnt, but to pull it out before you see more than a few blacked corn kernels. After the vegetables are roasted, out of the oven they go. I like to add the dried Mexican oregano right away, so it cooks just a little as the corn cools. The large ingredients- the pineapple, onion, garlic and jalapeño will need to be chopped into pieces not too much larger than the corn. You don’t want to chop them before cooking, since the small pieces burn more easily. Once all your ingredients are in nice little pieces you can add them to a mixing bowl, and throw in chopped scallions, a little olive oil, lime juice, a tiny bit of soy sauce, salt, pepper, and chili powder. I made my salad a bit on the spicy side- if you’re not a spice fan, add a little at a time, mixing, until you reach a heat level you like. Once done, you can eat your pineapple corn salad right away or chill first. It’s great on its own, but it also works really well as a fruity salsa with chips.
Roasted, Fiery Pineapple Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 5 ears of corn
- 1 fresh pineapple
- 1 medium-sized onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 jalapeño peppers
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- Olive oil, as needed
- 1 tbsp. Mexican oregano
- 2 scallions
- 2 limes
- 1 tsp. soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
Instructions
- Prepare two baking sheets with silicone mats or oil, and turn the broiler in your oven on high. Shuck the corn, and cut it from the ears, keeping it in big pieces if possible. Remove the leaves from the pineapple, and cut the outer skin away from the fruit. Cut in half lengthwise, and cut out the core. Chop into halfmoon pieces. Peel the onion, and cut into eights, removing the root. Chop the jalapeños in half, and peel the garlic. Place the corn, pineapple, onion, garlic, and jalapeños on the prepared baking sheets, and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle on a little salt, and place the trays in your oven. Keep an eye on them, and remove after the top layer of the onion is well charred, but before your corn is burnt. While still hot, sprinkle the vegetables with the Mexican oregano.
- Finely chop your scallions. Once cooled, dice your roasted onions and pineapple, and mince the jalapeño and garlic. Place all the vegetables in a large mixing bowl. Top with about a tablespoon of olive oil, scallions, the juice of two limes, soy sauce, and chili powder. Mix well, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or chilled.
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