Erica De Mane

Recipe below in text: Warm Corn Salad with Tomatoes, Thai Basil, and Ricotta Salata.

I haven’t been very creative with corn this summer, just eating a lot of corn on the cob (or corn on the club, as my friend’s young son used to call it). And, in fact, I haven’t completely enjoyed every ear, finding some ridiculously sweet. Half the time I can’t even finish one club. You have to really hunt around the farmers’ markets to find the old-fashioned varieties that are not just sugar loads.

The other day I picked up some ears of what was labeled white corn. The kernels weren’t exactly white, more like a very pale yellow. I’ve seen carnations that color. I was told by the people at the farm stand that that corn was a native, nonhybrid variety. After a little research I thought maybe it was New York Iroquois corn, but the farm people didn’t call it that. I tested it by chomping into it raw. Sweet but grassy. I decided to slice off the kernels and sauté them. That made it even sweeter, but with a deeper vegetable undertaste than the yellow stuff. Still, I didn’t want to eat it straight, finally deciding that any type of corn is improved by a little acid, a little heat, and salt.

I came up with this recipe, which includes a peperoncino for heat, ricotta salata for salinity, tomatoes because it’s still summer, a little miso for umami, and Thai basil for its anise spiciness, which, especially late in the season, is a good counterpoint to sweet.

To make it, first off make a vinaigrette, with 1 teaspoon of white miso, a teaspoon of sherry wine vinegar, a teaspoon of mirin, and 1½ tablespoons of good olive oil. Mix that all well until the miso is dissolved.

Shuck 5 ears of summer corn (you can try to find a white variety, but any type will work well). With a sharp knife, slice off the kernels.

Get out a large sauté pan, and set it over medium heat. Drizzle in a little olive oil. Add the corn, 2 scallions cut into thin rounds, a piece of a fresh hot red chili, minced (as much as you like; I used about half a peperoncino), and a big pinch of allspice. Add a sprinkle of salt, and sauté until the corn is firm but tender, 3 minutes or so.

Put the corn in a big serving bowl. Add 2 or 3 well chopped plum tomatoes (I seeded mine) and a handful of lightly chopped Thai basil leaves. Pour on the vinaigrette, and give it all a gentle toss. Scatter on some crumbled ricotta salata, and garnish with a few nice looking Thai basil sprigs.

You can serve this warm or at room temperature. It will feed four or five as a side dish. I served it with roasted monkfish that I topped with a green tapenade, but it would go well with any number things (barbecued chicken thighs, for instance).

Happy late summer cooking to you.