Brag, Brag, Brag

Since I was born and raised in Jersey, I figure that gives me bragging rights to be as proud of Jersey corn as though I gave birth to it. Last week while visiting my favorite farm stand, I asked the proprietor how she cooked her corn. Figuring she would just confirm what I already know about cooking corn, I was astounded when she gave me a very unusual recipe. She said a customer who was from Germany gave it to her a few years ago and everyone who tries it absolutely loves it. She made me promise to tell her how I liked it if I ever tried the recipe.

Here it is:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4 ears of Corn (uncooked)

5 Scallions

Salt and Pepper

A big chunk of butter (about 3 Tablespoons)

Holding on to each raw ear of corn, stand it up in a large, shallow bowl and cut off the kernels with a sharp knife. The kernels will fall right into the bowl so there is no mess or loss of corn.

Wash the scallions well under running water. Trim off both ends and discard. Slice the green into 1/2 inch pieces and slice the white smaller.

In a large 10-inch saute pan, barely cover the bottom with olive oil. Don't use too much oil, just enough to almost cover the pan in a thin layer. Heat the oil for a few seconds and dump in the corn and scallions. Add salt and pepper and saute over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, tossing often. Add the lump of butter, stir to melt and serve the corn piping hot.

The recipe as she gave it to me called for 6 ears of corn to about 5 scallions but I like it the way I made it. Of course, scallions are not all equal in size so you will have to figure out for yourself how many to put in. It's not rocket science so whatever you do it will be delicious. Definitely cook it in olive oil and don't skimp on the butter. This is not the time to worry about a calorie here and there. Don't eliminate anything.

Dave had purchased 5 ears of corn and I reserved one as a back up in case the recipe was a bust. I cooked it the usual way in boiling water for just 3 minutes.

After digging in to the new recipe and hearing lots of mmmmm sounds from Dave, I asked his opinion. He loved it as did I. Then we both took a bite from the ear cooked the traditional way. Also delicious. The final decision for both of us: we loved them equally but if you only get one or two opportunities a summer to have fresh corn, then you should be a purist and have it on the cobb. However, if you are lucky like we are and get corn for several months, then you should absolutely, positively try the new recipe. In fact, if you don't have access to Jersey corn, perhaps you should always use the new recipe as it somewhat changes the taste and may improve sub-par corn. You will not be disappointed. Writing this makes me hanker for some more. Think I'll drive over to that stand and thank the lady and get some more corn for lunch. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. Yummy.