Flatbread with Corn, Peppers & Goat Cheese
Roll out pizza dough and top with tomato puree. Top with corn kernels, roasted red bell peppers and thinly sliced red onion. Dot with goat cheese.
Bake in a 500°F oven until dough is crisp and cheese is melted. Garnish with fresh basil.
Barley Salad with
Grilled Corn
Slice summer squashes lengthwise into planks. Drizzle squash and shucked corn with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until tender. Dice squash and cut kernels from cob.
Whisk together champagne vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss corn, squash and cooked pearled barley with vinaigrette and chopped mint
and dill.
Quick Corn Chowder
Sauté minced shallots in butter
until softened.
Add corn kernels, diced potatoes, chopped thyme, chicken or vegetable broth, salt and pepper; cook until potatoes are tender.
Stir in half-and-half and
chopped basil.
Corn Fritters
Cut kernels from 4 ears of corn; toss with 1 beaten egg, salt, pepper and 2 to 3 Tbs. flour.
Refrigerate batter 30 minutes.
Warm a thin layer of oil in a fry pan, drop in large spoonfuls of batter and cook, turning once, until golden brown.
Corn & Black Bean Salad
Toss corn kernels with black beans, sliced green onions, chopped cilantro, diced jalapeño, diced red onion, diced avocado and diced tomato.
Season with salt, lime juice, cumin, olive oil and red wine vinegar.
Mexican Street Corn
Shuck corn, rub with oil and season with salt.
Grill over high heat until tender and nicely marked.
Brush with mayonnaise, sprinkle with cayenne and roll in finely crumbled cotija or feta cheese; serve with lime wedges.
Availability
Corn is at its freshest and sweetest during the height of summer and in late summer.
Selecting
Corn is at its best when just picked, with the freshest ears usually found at farmers' markets. Choose ears with green husks and no signs of browning or drying. They should feel cool, never noticeably warm. The silk, or tassels, should be pale yellow and moist. The kernels should be tightly packed in even rows and look plump and juicy. When you tear back the husk at the market to view the corn inside, you are shortening its shelf life.
Preparing
Strip the husks and silk from the ears, snapping the leaves off the bottom along with any remaining stem (unless you want to keep it as a handle for eating). To remove stubbornly clinging strands of corn silk, scrub the corn with a vegetable brush under cold running water. To cook, drop corn into boiling water and blanch until crisp-tender, roast it in the oven or grill it on a barbecue, brushed with oil or butter and wrapped in foil. Another option is to microwave the ears, four or five at a time. You can also cut the kernels from the cob and sauté, steam or broil to add to a variety of dishes.
Storing
Keep fresh sweet corn wrapped in its husks in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook it, preferably for no longer than a day. The natural sugar begins to turn to starch the minute the ear is picked, so consume corn as soon as possible.