Grilled Corn, Tomato & Pecorino Salad

The thing about me is that I’m a pecorino fan. I have been since my days living in Florence and nothing’s going to change that. My personal fav is Pecorino Toscano, although there are versions of the sheep’s milk cheeses hailing from Lazio, Calabria and even Sardegna. I've decided to highlight my personal fav in this grilled corn, tomato and pecorino salad!

Made with raw or pasteurized milk in Europe, cheeses made with raw milk must be aged for at least two months to be legally sold in North America. Luckily, pecorino ages well, getting nuttier in flavour and crumblier with age. But, my personal favourite type is the fresher pecorino fresco.

Ivory with a mild, sweet flavour, some of the most memorable pecorino I had were from the morning weekend markets in the centre of Florence, wrapping in anything from sundried tomatoes to pressed grapes and even walnut leaves. But even the inside of pecorino could hold a surprise—think shaved truffles.

Anyway, while fresh pecorino is fabulous aperitivo fare when served with a glass of Vernaccia or Chenin Blanc, it also ages fabulously, getting crumbly and nuttier in flavour. I decided to use an aged Pecorino Toscano for this recipe to add a bit of extra texture and salt, but fresh pecorino shavings also work.

Yet another summer salad to add to your arsenal of backyard bbq recipes, this recipe will remind you of why pecorino is friggin’ amazing. It’ll also remind you of how awesomely delicious charred corn kernels are, and how full of flavour heirloom tomatoes are—basically, this dish is going to lead to a bunch of food revelations, so be prepared.

I like to serve this salad with grilled chicken, sausages, burgers or just about any other item that’ll benefit from a bit of smokey flavour. I mean, if you’re grilling corn cobs, you might as well take advantage of the grill, right?

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Grilled Corn, Tomato & Pecorino Salad

* Makes 4 servings *

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cobs corn, grilled

• 2 cups heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved

• 1/2 cup aged pecorino, shaved

• 2 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary powder

METHOD

1. Grill corn on the cob for 15 minutes until nice and charred. Once cooled, shave kernels off the cob and toss into a bowl.

2. Cut cherry tomatoes in half and add to corn.

3. Shave pecorino shards and add to salad, resetting a few ribbons for garnish.

4. Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and rosemary powder. Drizzle over salad.

5. Top with remaining pecorino and serve immediately.

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