There's a lot to love about fresh corn on the cob. The sweet crunch, the fun of eating it like a squirrel, the way you can brandish it with authority when trying to make an important point during meal time, like: "I WILL not stop singing while eating. Ever!" But as a toddler mom-chef, what I love perhaps most of all, and what I have only now come to fully appreciate about delicious corn, is the fast, no-mess, super simple way you can cook this as a fresh healthy starch and veggie, all in one, for your little ones (or the whole family).
Years ago, before we became parents and we more closely resembled gluttons, my husband and I spent some time perfecting the art of cooking fresh corn. ( A bit of family trivia: This is the only thing I can make that claim about in fourteen years of partnership). We tried the usual boiling mess. But then you must first husk all that corn, and boil all that water, and wait. And wait. Then waste that water.
There is also the popular method of removing the corn silk but keeping on the husk (read: extra work), and infusing the corn with flavor under the husk by rubbing butter or oil and seasonings like paprika, cumin, chilli or lime on the kernels, then replacing the husk to seal this in while you grill or oven roast the corn.
But the way we have determined is most flavorful, and simplest, is to just snip off the top of the protruding corn silk (so it does not catch fire), and place the corn cobs just like that, they way they come off the corn stalk basically, into a hot oven at 425 degrees or on a hot grill for 15-20 minutes depending entirely on the size of the corn cob and kernels. The larger they are, the tougher the corn, and the longer it needs to cook.
As you roast these without any mess or fuss, you have plenty of time to quickly sear a piece of fish or other protein in a pan or on the grill, or roast it alongside the corn in the oven, and steam some greens or toss a salad, and that, to me, is the one of the fastest, freshest, most delicious dinners I know how to make. Once the corn is ready, take it out and let it cool just a minute so the steam does not burn you. Peel down the husk, remove the silk, and then twist husks to serve as a handle and make eating your corn easier and more enjoyable.
I serve something like this with a little butter to melt on everything (pediatrician's orders, to fatten up our child), sliced lemon or lime, and fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro, mint, rosemary, chives, dill, sage, basil or thyme.
Years ago, before we became parents and we more closely resembled gluttons, my husband and I spent some time perfecting the art of cooking fresh corn. ( A bit of family trivia: This is the only thing I can make that claim about in fourteen years of partnership). We tried the usual boiling mess. But then you must first husk all that corn, and boil all that water, and wait. And wait. Then waste that water.
There is also the popular method of removing the corn silk but keeping on the husk (read: extra work), and infusing the corn with flavor under the husk by rubbing butter or oil and seasonings like paprika, cumin, chilli or lime on the kernels, then replacing the husk to seal this in while you grill or oven roast the corn.
But the way we have determined is most flavorful, and simplest, is to just snip off the top of the protruding corn silk (so it does not catch fire), and place the corn cobs just like that, they way they come off the corn stalk basically, into a hot oven at 425 degrees or on a hot grill for 15-20 minutes depending entirely on the size of the corn cob and kernels. The larger they are, the tougher the corn, and the longer it needs to cook.
As you roast these without any mess or fuss, you have plenty of time to quickly sear a piece of fish or other protein in a pan or on the grill, or roast it alongside the corn in the oven, and steam some greens or toss a salad, and that, to me, is the one of the fastest, freshest, most delicious dinners I know how to make. Once the corn is ready, take it out and let it cool just a minute so the steam does not burn you. Peel down the husk, remove the silk, and then twist husks to serve as a handle and make eating your corn easier and more enjoyable.
I serve something like this with a little butter to melt on everything (pediatrician's orders, to fatten up our child), sliced lemon or lime, and fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro, mint, rosemary, chives, dill, sage, basil or thyme.
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