Pan-roasted corn meets herbs in this summer side dish

Oh, boy, fresh corn season! It’s so plentiful all of a sudden, and reasonable in price. Eating fresh corn on the cob is still the best, but the season is long enough that there’s time to try other ways to serve it.

In this recipe, corn kernels are cooked quickly on high heat in a skillet until they brown and start to pop. Stripping the kernels off the cobs beforehand is the only tedious part. Deciding which fresh herb you want to use — mint or basil — is a little easier. 

The New York Times recipe that inspired me called this “caramelized corn with fresh mint” but I feared readers would see that as “caramel corn,” which is another thing entirely. So: Pan-roasted corn with fresh herb. Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy.

I was curious how the original mint version would taste vs. a version with basil, so I made half of each. Both delicious but distinct: The mint recipe was just a touch sweet, and would be wonderful alongside grilled salmon, for instance. Maybe a little lime juice over the corn, too?

The basil version almost tasted like it had Parmesan cheese in it, so stir in some of the cheese to corn served with a heartier main, such as Italian sausage or meatballs.

This side dish also can be dressed up to be a main course on its own: Separately sauté some halved cherry tomatoes and some shredded rotisserie chicken or diced ham, then stir those into the cooked corn. Chopped green onion also is a possibility. Lots of summer ahead to try many versions.

Pan-roasted corn with fresh herb

Serve 4 to 6

Ingredients:

 3 or 4 ears of fresh corn

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint or basil, divided

Sea salt

Instructions:

Shuck the corn and remove as much of the silk as possible. (One trick to help do that: Take one large leaf of the husk and rub the inner side across the corn kernels.)

Hold one ear of corn vertically in a large bowl. Using a sharp, preferably serrated knife, strip the kernels off the bottom half of the cob, letting them fall into the bowl. Flip the cob over and cut off the remaining kernels. Repeat for the rest of the ears. I got 1-1/3 cups kernels from one large ear, so you should have at least 4 cups of kernels.

Heat a large skillet (preferably with a high rim) over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter. As the butter starts to melt, add half the corn kernels.

Immediatly stir the kernels, getting them coated in the melting butter. The corn will start to brown quickly; a few kernels may even pop out of the pan. After about 5 minutes, or until the corn has reached your preferred level of brown, add a shake or two of salt, and remove the pan from the heat. Scrape the kernels into a serving bowl, and immediately shower the corn with half the chopped mint or basil. Stir the herb into the hot corn.

Repeat the cooking steps with the rest of the butter, corn and herbs.

After the second half of the corn is cooked and herbed, taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, or add ground black pepper, grated Parmesan or a sprinkle of lime juice, if desired.

Serve the corn warm or at room temperature.