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| The Comfort Family Farm Stand on Lumber Lane, Bridgehampton NY |
As much as I love sweet corn and as much as I’ll eat of it between now and the first frost, I am no fan of corn on the cob. I find it inelegant to eat, to say the very least. Better by far is to take it off the cob. Combine with it some red pepper, red onion and butter and you end up with Ina Garten’s fantastic confetti corn which is the first thing I make when the first fresh corn hits the farm stand. (See http://chewingthefat.us.com/2014/09/ina-gartens-ode-to-marcella-hazan.html. This year, at the Comfort Family farm stand down the hill from us, not only was there glorious early corn but sitting next to it were quarts of snap peas. I brought them both home and breathed new life into Ina’s Confetti corn recipe. And the biggest change was it was just as good cold as it was warm.
A really simple change made it possible to enjoy the abundance of crunchy snap peas, red peppers and bicolor corn once piping hot and next, crisp and cool. Ina’s confetti corn swims in butter-y goodness. Since it’s a stand-in for corn on the cob, which is almost inevitably rolled in butter before it’s eaten, this only makes sense. However, if you swap out the butter for extra virgin olive oil, you have something the next day that’s a fine cold salad. It is so simple to make, I hope you’ll rely on it next time corn beckons to you. The hardest part about it is likely the shucking of the corn, something you can likely delegate to any non-cook hanging out in your kitchen. Getting the kernels off the cob is best achieved by using a Bundt Pan. You hold the cob over the center of the pan, and slice from there. The corn will fall into the pan and not all over your countertop. Here is the recipe:
Recipe for Hot or Cold Corn and Snap Pea Salad
Serves 6-8. Takes under 30 mins to make.
8 ears of corn
1 Red Pepper, in ¼ inch dice.
1 Sweet or Red Onion, in ¼ inch dice
1 Quart of Snap Peas, trimmed.
4 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tbsp. Chives (optional)
1. Shuck the corn and using a sharp knife and a Bundt cake pan, remove the kernels from the corn.
2. Put the olive oil in a 12 inch skillet and heat to medium.
Add the onions and red pepper and cook until they are soft.
3. Add the corn and the snap peas and cook 2-3 minutes just till warmed through.
4. Salt and pepper the dish and taste for seasoning.
5. Sprinkle chives over the top and serve at once, reserving any leftovers. Chill overnight in the refrigerator to serve again the next day.
