Corn on the Cob with Fresh Herb Butter and Parmesan
/Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
½ cup assorted fresh herbs, such as basil, parsley, and rosemary
1 small garlic clove, minced or grated on a rasp
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 to 6 ears of cooked corn, boiled, baked or microwaved—see Lessons Learned
½ cup (or more) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Make the corn and herb butter:
Cook the ears with the method of your choosing. In the meantime, in a small bowl, stir the minced herbs, garlic, salt and pepper into the softened butter.
When the corn is done, slather each ear with the herb butter and sprinkle with the grated parmesan. Serve immediately.
The herb butter can be made a day in advance and stored in the fridge. Soften before using for easy spreading.
Serves 4-6. YUM!
LESSONS Learned.
Here are a few ways to cook the ears. I just usually just shuck and boil mine.
1. You can simply shuck the ears by pulling off the husks and the silk, and then boiling them in a big pot of salted water for 5-8 minutes. I like to add a little sugar and milk to the water too---that’s a Jersey shore thing. The only problem with this method is that you usually end up with a lot silk still stuck in between the kernels and they’re a pain to remove.
2. You can throw the unshucked ears into a big pot of boiling, salted water for 8 minutes. Using tongs, remove the corn to a pan to cool for a few minutes. Then, using a kitchen towel, hold the ear of corn on a cutting board, and cut off the bottom, far enough up the ear to cut all of the leaves from the husk. The husk and the silk should easily come off.
3. Even easier, you could throw the unhusked ears of corn into an oven at 350 degrees F, and bake for 3o minutes. Peel back the husks to remove the silk, then continue to pull back the husks to the bottom of the ear, and you’ll have a handle to eat them with.
4. The latest rage is putting an ear in the microwave for 4 minutes, 8 minutes for 2 ears. Then cut off the bottom, again far enough up to cut all the leaves. And then from the tip end, gently squeeze the ear to allow it to slip out. Once a little of the ear is exposed, you can use a knife to hold down the ear as you pull the husk completely off. The silk magically and neatly stays inside the husk, leaving you with a nice clean ear of corn.
5. Oh, just a little aside, did you know that there is a piece of silk attached to every kernel of corn?