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 saltPreheat 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:
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July 31st, 2008at 6:46 am(#)
i think i could happily put smoked paprika butter on anything. i’ve been LOVING fresh corn from the farmer’s market lately — what a difference from the frozen kind!
July 31st, 2008at 9:11 am(#)
katy – the next thing I might try is zucchini rolls with smoked paprika butter… yum….
July 31st, 2008at 1:50 pm(#)
I first discovered smoked paprika in college, when a friend working in a Spanish foods specialty store sent me a kit of everything I needed to make my own paella. I started putting smoked paprika in just about everything, I was so enamored of it!
On grilled corn sounds really tasty. Especially with butter, but you know about my passion for butter.
Debs
Food Is Love
August 2nd, 2008at 2:10 pm(#)
Great idea Jen!
have you tried this smoke Pimento from Spain? They’re to die for. If you really like smoke pimento get this brand, Igo, from Basque and the other brand is Syren (Fume Piment Espagnol). Got them from WilliamsSonoma. You might like them too.
August 2nd, 2008at 4:36 pm(#)
Nice blog! I do miss the great (and cheap) produce in the bay, but I managed to get some decent looking corn today at the Union Square farmers market. Going to have to give this one a try:-)
August 4th, 2008at 8:05 pm(#)
[...] Carlile at Modern Beet posts a recipe for Grilled Corn with Smoked Paprika. Smoked Paprika is an awesome spice for the sweet, grilled [...]