Balancing act

Here are 2 side salads that play nicely with grilled food

Mother’s Day has really co-opted brunch (we get it — mimosas), but dads deserve their special thing, too. Luckily, Father’s Day falls right in summer’s sweet spot, just in time for June’s inaugural grilling. It may be a cliche, but if your dad is like the ones we know, you’re not allowed to handle the steaks. That still leaves you with maybe the most important job of all (don’t tell him we said that): the sides!

Choosing a side dish often comes down to a gut feeling: do these items “go together?” When pairing sides with a main course, students at The Culinary Institute of America are taught to consider the balance of the overall menu.

This pairing process helps prevent that feeling we’ve all had after a plate of beef brisket, macaroni and cheese, and potato salad — and explains why the sour, briny pickles are so welcomed on that same plate. Rich, fatty proteins are especially well-suited to bright flavors like vinegar and citrus juice, because they help clean your palate of the heavy mouthfeel that can exhaust you before you’ve taken your third bite.

The Culinary Institute of America’s recipe for Mexican-style Corn Salad is a play on elote, a popular Mexican street food. Elote is grilled corn smothered in Mexican crema, cotija cheese, chili powder, and a squeeze of lime. You can find this treat all over Mexico and in much of the southwestern United States, both on the cob or served in a cup.

This version is less rich than the dish that inspires it, subbing crema for a tangy mix of olive oil and fresh lime juice. With the addition of crisp vegetables, this cold salad is the perfect accompaniment to grilled ribeye or tender pulled pork.

On the other side of the spectrum, our Warm Vegetable Noodle Salad celebrates the noodle vegetable trend.

Though this recipe doesn’t require a noodle maker, you can certainly use one, or buy pre-noodled veggies for a fun presentation. Tossed quickly in your saute pan, this dish takes the best of summer’s bounty and transforms it into a warm salad that is a no-brainer with chicken kabobs or lightly charred shrimp.

Probably the most desirable quality of a grilling side is convenience. Grilling for a crowd can be stressful, since most of the work happens right at the last minute, and make-ahead side dishes are the key to getting everything on the table at the same time.

Make the Mexican-style Corn Salad the day ahead, or prepare the ingredients and grill the corn day-of. For the Warm Vegetable Noodle Salad, julienne your veggies the day before, and then throw them in the pan for a quick saute while your grill is preheating. If you’ve got the space, you can even cook it in a cast-iron skillet on the grill. That is, if Dad lets you. Start to finish for both salads: 45 minutes

PHIL MANSFIELD — THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA VIA AP Mexican-style corn salad