During Memorial Day Weekend, you may have seen my Instagram post about ribs. I entered them into a local recipe competition. Unfortunately, I didn’t win, but I am grateful I tried. I had a great time bonding with my husband and trying out a few new ideas and food products. We put to use our new smoker and tried two different rib recipes.
So, what did we serve with all of these ribs?
This Grilled Zucchini and Corn Salad!
This salad was simple to make and nutritious. I knew we wanted something seasonal to eat for our side dish, so I swung by our local farmers market for the vegetables.
About Pea Shoots
If you haven’t tried pea shoots before, I recommend adding them to your salad or stir-fry repertoire – especially during the early summer months when in season. Pea shoots are harvested from the pea plant. They are delicate and tender, making them a refreshing alternative to other lettuce types.
Mise En Place
- 4 Ears of Corn – Shucked and Washed
- 2 Zucchinis- Cut in half lengthwise
- 3-4 handfuls of Pea Sprouts- rinsed and dried
- Fresh Herbs- I used parsley
- 1 or 2 Limes- Juiced
- 1 Can of Chickpeas- rinsed and drained
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil- for grilling and to make the vinaigrette
- Salt and Pepper
To make the salad, first grill lightly oiled zucchini and corn over medium-high heat. Only grill each side for 2-3 minutes just to get a char on the vegetables. Once Zucchini and Corn have cooled enough to handle, dice zucchini into bite size pieces and cut corn kernels from cob.
Place half of pea shoots on your serving platter. In a separate bowl, combine remaining peashoots, chickeas, parsley, zucchini, and corn. Drizzle in 1 Tablespoon olive oil, and juice of 1 lime. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Toss to together the ingredients. If the salad is too dry, you can add more oil or lime juice. If you feel it needs more seasoning, add more herbs and salt or pepper.
Spoon the dressed salad on top of the plain peashoots and serve.
All In All
For this salad, I liked the combination of the light greens, sweetness from the corn, fresh herbs, and charred grill flavors. The addition of the chickpeas is optional, but it made it more filling and textural. The vinaigrette is light and straightforward.
Here’s the recipe below…
Grilled Zucchini and Corn Salad with Pea Shoots
Ingredients
- 4 Ears fresh corn Shucked
- 2 Zucchinis Cut in half length wise
- 3-4 handfuls Fresh Pea Sprouts Divided
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil Plus more for grilling
- 1-2 Small Limes Juiced
- 1 Can chickpeas Rinsed and Drained
- 3 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley Chopped
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
Grill Corn and Zucchini
- Preheat grill to medium-high. Lightly brush corn and zucchini with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill corn and zucchini until lightly charred, about 2-3 minutes per side. Set aside to cool.
Construct Salad
- Once Zucchini and Corn have cooled enough to handle, dice zucchini into bite size pieces and cut corn kernels from cob.
- Place half of pea shoots on your serving platter. In a separate bowl, combine remaining peashoots, chickeas, parsley, zucchini, and corn. Drizzle in 1 Tablespoon olive oil, and juice of 1 lime. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. If desired, add additional lime juice, herbs and more seasoning.
- Spoon the dressed salad on top of the plain peashoots and serve.
First of all, I love grilled veggies! Secondly, I never would have thought about these flavor combinations! They all go together so perfectly. This is definitely going to make an appearance at all of my summer cookouts!
Great! It has lots of layers of flavor that everyone can love. It’s also perfect for a cookout. Enjoy!
Aww, sorry to hear you didn’t win the rib competition. However, this salad looks amazing! All of my favorite summer flavors in one dish…yes please!!
I really enjoyed the grilled flavour combined with corn. I am going to try this!
This salad looks so fresh and beautiful! I’ve never cooked with pea shoots before but I’m excited to try them out!
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. I always buy my pea shoots at the farmers market.
This looks so delicious. Nice and fresh and light! I can’t wait to try it!
I’m ALWAYS looking for new ways to serve corn and this was a perfect switch to add to our summertime meals!
I love veggies on the grill so I can’t wait to try it!!!
I am bookmarking this recipe! I am grilling with friends next weekend and this is the perfect recipe for a side dish. Also, those ribs look amazing–both ways!
Thank you! Have fun this weekend!!!
Just added this to my to do list!
Awesome! Enjoy.
We love grilled zucchini, trying this ASAP 😍
This looks soooo refreshing!! Thank you for sharing, can’t wait to try this!