It's sweet corn season. At the market, tables are stacked with mountains of the stuff, wrapped in rough green leaves like sweet, yellow gifts. August plays out as a bacchanal of sweet corn, as we chomp our way through dozens of ears. They often come in bags of 12, so we have to eat them all, right?
Maybe you are a corn purist, and are completely satisfied with a steaming, just boiled ear of corn, slathered in butter.
The rest of us want to branch out beyond butter. Maybe it starts with a different spread on the corn, such as pesto, or avocado. Maybe you make the classic Mexican elote, and slather the corn with mayonnaise, spices and crumbled cotija cheese.
If you have always boiled your corn, you must try grilling. Mother Nature, in her infinite wisdom, has provided us with a perfect cooking tool. I like to soak a few unshucked ears in cold water, drain them, then toss them on a medium-hot grill and close the lid. The damp leaves will steam the corn to tenderness, and once they dry out and start to char, the heat of the fire will caramelize the corn a bit and give it a smoky taste. Quickly strip the husks, and the cornsilk will go, too.
But where you can really get creative is when you start liberating the corn kernels from the cob and incorporating them into other dishes. You don't need a fancy gadget, just a sharp chef's knife. Simply place a shucked ear on the cutting board, place your knife parallel to the cob and slice straight down to shave off a few rows of kernels. Roll the cob over to rest on the place you just cut, and keep shaving away that precious corn. You'll get about a cup of corn from each large ear.
Once you have your fresh, juicy corn off the cob, you can start incorporating it in everything from soup to bread. The juicy kernels are so sweet and tender that you hardly need to cook them. Toss them into a vegetable soup or stir-fry for the last few minutes of cooking. Sauté them with diced zucchini and tomatoes, and finish with handfuls of fresh basil, or whatever herbs are plentiful in your garden. You can even add them instead of fruit to a scone or muffin recipe.
Celebrate corn season. It won't last long!
Robin Asbell is a cooking instructor and author of "Big Vegan," "The Whole Grain Promise" and "Great Bowls of Food." Find her at robinasbell.com.
