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Grilled Corn with Smoked Paprika Butter

2 ears corn, shucked
1 T. butter
1/2 t. smoked paprika (or more to taste)
1/4 t. sea salt

Preheat grill to medium high.  Grill corn for about 20 minutes, rotating 90 degrees every 5 minutes.

Mix butter, smoked paprika, and salt in a small bowl.  Slather over corn once grilled to your liking.

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This recipe gets back to the heart and soul of Modern Beet — simple preparations of fresh, seasonal vegetables!

As we near the end of July, fresh corn is showing up more and more at the farmer’s market — in a couple of weeks the season will be in full swing.  I look forward to the days when I can drive by Webb Ranch and see their sign ‘Fresh Corn picked hourly! 3/$1!’

The Webb Ranch corn was the first organic corn I ever encountered (this was a few years ago, back when I lived in Portola Valley).  I remember stopping there one afternoon to pick up some corn and other vegetables.  I stood at the corn bin for a few minutes, pulling back the husks on the corn looking for insect damage — to my dismay, only a small percentage of the ears were ‘perfect’.  After 5 minutes or so of this I had only gathered a couple ears; an elderly woman standing near me noticed my actions, and delivered some unsolicited but sage wisdom — she said, ‘well, wouldn’t you rather have worms than pesticides?’  When you put it like that, there’s not much room for argument.

But anyhow, back to the recipe — this is a total crowd pleaser, and couldn’t be simpler — grill corn, mix butter, slather, enjoy!…  And if anyone is wondering, don’t substitute regular paprika for the smoked paprika;  if you’re into similes and word associations, one way to think about it is smoked paprika is to regular paprika as chipotle chili powder is to regular chili powder — it’s a whole different taste — smoked paprika is earthy, smokey, rich, almost sensual.  I’m a new convert to smoked paprika… I love it and I’ll never go back!

Still Hungry?   Try one of these:

- Rutabaga Bisque with Smoked Paprika

- Oaxacan Pipian with Zucchini and Onions

- Danish Braid with Nectarine and Strawberry Butter