Blazing in on the final, the music of the summer time is lastly upon us. Entitled It’s Corn, the song is an instantly catchy, surprisingly heartfelt ode to sweetcorn as carried out by a baby often known as Corn Boy, and it’s really inescapable on TikTok. The lyrics will not be solely sincerely easy (“It’s corn!” it goes. “An enormous lump with knobs, it has the juice! I can’t think about a extra stunning factor”) however additionally they make the listener wish to immediately exit and eat as a lot corn as doable. And for that motive and that motive alone, listed here are the ten greatest corn recipes on the web.
Sweetcorn fritters
Let’s begin with Felicity Cloake’s perfect sweetcorn fritters from earlier this month. The recipe is value revisiting for 2 causes. The primary is that Cloake underlines how vital it’s to eat corn on the cob as recent as doable, for the reason that sugars begin turning to starch as quickly as they’re picked. Secondly, the fritters are spectacular – crisp and candy and lacy.
Creamed corn
In reality, let’s double up on Cloake recipes, as a result of final yr she additionally created the right creamed corn. An missed dish within the UK, partly as a result of merely gnawing on a cob is such a foolproof sweetcorn supply methodology, creamed corn is tremendously comforting and straightforward to make. Fry a load of corn with some onion, pour in milk and cream, stir it collectively and also you’re finished. Lovely.
Corn grilled in its husk with creamy pecorino dressing
Talking of gnawing on a cob, you’re not precisely wanting variations. My mum’s methodology – mainly boiling them into oblivion – is completely advantageous. However for a bit extra class, Yotam Ottolenghi’s corn grilled in its husk with creamy pecorino dressing is difficult to beat. The husk acts as a steamer, trapping the corn’s juices, however the dressing is what actually elevates the dish. Sharp (because of the lemon juice) and salty (because of the cheese and the anchovies), it’s maybe corn’s very best accompaniment.
Sweetcorn pudding
Now we’ve coated the fundamentals, let’s take a fast left flip. Andi Oliver’s sweetcorn pudding is the form of dish that, except you’re from the American south, may not make a lot sense in any respect on paper. It’s a semi-sweet, eggy, creamy sweetcorn casserole historically served with hen. You would possibly want a bit momentum behind you to do that one, however I promise it’s value it.
Corn cheese
Should you’re feeling significantly bullish about your cardiac well being, permit me to introduce you to the Korean facet dish corn cheese. It’s precisely what it seems like: a load of sweetcorn suspended in mounds of melted cheese. There are non-compulsory prospers – you possibly can combine the corn with diced peppers, or slather it in mayonnaise, as My Korean Kitchen’s recipe does here – however actually you’re simply right here for the cheese.
Corn chaat
In the meantime, if you happen to’re not hellbent on clattering headfirst in direction of a nightmare of clogged arteries, right here’s Veg Recipes of India’s recipe for corn chaat. It takes a fortunately loosey-goosey angle to corn preparation (you possibly can boil it, fry it, whack it in a strain cooker) and elements (serve it with diced tomatoes, or cucumber, or potatoes, or chickpeas, or kiwifruit), however the finish result’s at all times splendidly clean-tasting.
Makai paka
Makai paka is an east-African coconut and corn curry that takes virtually no time in any respect to make. As per Tasty’s recipe, you simply blanch your corn, soften some butter, add chillis, spices and coconut milk, then throw all of it collectively. It’s a near-perfect weekday dinner.
Mealie bread
We might compile a separate checklist made completely of assorted cornbread recipes. Right here, nonetheless, we’ll merely follow African Bites’ mealie bread recipe. Made with a mixture of cornmeal and pureed corn, it’s a moist, dense South African bread historically steamed in cocoa tins and bought as road meals. This recipe is a bit completely different, requiring you to bake it, however it’s scrumptious, nonetheless.
Atol de elote
As Corn Boy rightly factors out, corn has the juice. To honour this watertight remark, right here’s Growing Up Bilingual’s recipe for atol de elote. It’s a Guatemalan corn drink, most frequently bought on the road at Christmas. As with the pudding above, this has a flavour profile which may sound uncommon – it’s cooked in thickened milk with sugar and cinnamon – however it’s scrumptious.
Corn cob inventory
By this level you could have listened to It’s Corn a number of thousand occasions, tried all of those recipes, and now end up surrounded by a number of hundred spent corn cobs. Concern not, as a result of the ever resourceful Tom Hunt is here to save the day with his corn cob stock. A bunch of previous cobs, some vegetable trimmings and possibly some hen bones, boiled in a pan for an hour – on the finish of it, you’ll have sufficient flavourful broth to maintain the corn get together going lengthy into autumn. I can’t think about a extra stunning factor.
