Fill a large pot with water, add a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add shucked corn, and cook for 9 minutes. (Note: If you’d prefer to grill the corn instead of boiling it, keep the ears of corn in husks OR wrap shucked corn in foil and place them directly on the grill for 18-20 minutes, 4-5 minutes per side, on medium-high heat. If grilling the corn in the husks, be sure to soak them in water for 20 minutes before adding them to the grill to prevent burning.)
While the corn is cooking, chop the red bell pepper, green onion, cilantro, and garlic, and prepare the dressing. In a large bowl, add the olive oil, lime juice, honey, cumin, minced garlic, a pinch of salt and pepper and whisk to combine.
Once the corn is cooked, strain or remove the ears of corn from the pot of boiling water and briefly run under cold water to cool and stop the cooking process. When the ears of corn are cool enough to handle, one at a time, hold an ear of corn vertically on a cutting board or plate and, using a large chef’s knife, cut in a downward motion following the rib of the cob, letting the kernels collect on the cutting board or plate, breaking up any large chunks of corn. Continue until you’ve sliced the kernels off all 4 ears of corn.
In the large bowl with the dressing, add the corn kernels, red bell pepper, green onion, and cilantro and stir to combine. Add diced avocado and cotija cheese and stir again to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with oil, lime juice, salt and pepper as needed.
The salad is best served immediately. If you want to make it ahead of time, wait until you are ready to serve to add the cotija cheese and avocado to ensure it does not brown.