Seasonal treat
One of my favourite times of the year is when I see those huge bins of freshly harvested ears of corn at the market. Corn on the cob, a great Canadian (and American) tradition that thankfully remains a seasonal treat that we can look forward to every year. It means fall is on its way, canning and preserving are in full gear and only a few outdoor bbq days are left.
When I was a little kid we would drive out to the country in search of the best corn stand of the season. It’s pretty standard knowledge for a kid that corn is ready to harvest when it is as high as an elephant’s eye, or at least that’s what my father used to say. Every once in a while we would return home with a bag of what we all referred to as cow corn, a chewy bland corn suitable for cattle feed. But after years of experience we always knew where to go to get corn “so sweet it will make your ears ring.”
Manicured corn
Dubious stacks of manicured corn at the supermarket always turn me off. What I’m looking for is a crate pulled off the back of a pick up filled with corn picked that morning.
This year I may have found the best corn stand (fruit and veg too) in recent memory. Not only did this stand sell a darned near perfect ear of corn but it was on the route of my favourite bike ride in Stanley Park. Like a fresh food oasis hidden under the fog of the deep fryers from the Second Beach take out stand, Berry Mobile set up a wonderful market tent selling the best of the bounty of British Columbia. Fresh peaches, pears, apples, berries and tomatoes all lined up with two of those crates filled with perfect peaches and cream.
West Coast
I’m not sure whether it gets more West Coast than riding your mountain bike out to Third Beach to stare out at the Pacific and the North Shore and then coasting along the Sea Wall to fill your back pack with freshly picked corn at Second Beach before an epic sunset at Sunset Beach and home for dinner.
After a few feeds of steaming hot cobs, rolled in butter and sprinkled with salt, it was time to get a little creative and change it up. The next best thing to corn on the cob is corn freshly cut from the cob and then prepared and I have just the recipe, pappardelle with roasted corn and peppers.
A one pan sauce
A one pan sauce that comes together in minutes into a rich creamy pasta sauce. Corn pairs well with dairy, in this case cream and Parmigiano Reggiano. Corn is also known to match well with smoky/salty bacon but here I used a piece of prosciutto end or remove it all together for a vegetarian version. The final thickening of the sauce is done by puréeing about a third of the ingredients and returning them to the pan. I like to use a hand held blender or you can scoop some into a standard blender. Don’t forget to save a splash of pasta cooking water for the end if things thicken up too much.
Bursting with the creamy sweetness of freshly picked corn this recipe will surprise you with how decadent it is for such a simple pasta dish.
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