Sweet Corn with Miso Butter
Inspiration for the combination of miso + sweetcorn came while watching Masterchef AU, the episode where Sara makes a roasted quail dish, on a bed of miso sweetcorn puree with a blackberry vinaigrette. As usual, I look at the side elements on a protein dish that I can re-create at home, maybe not in the same exact form, rather as a flavour pairing that I can then create my own recipe with. Now let’s be honest, we’ve all eaten butter slathered corn on the cob, and even steamed corn with a dollop of butter and spices, and it is safe to deem the bowlful of goodness as a warming and comforting snack. Adding miso and some other relishes, well that just makes it burst with flavour in an understated and perfectly rounded way!
For some reason, a lot of people like to boil their corn before using it, or steaming it. I personally find this not only wasteful and cumbersome, but I find that repetitive cooking methods ruin the texture of sweet corn, and zap them of their nutritional value. My preference? Cook kernels in a pan with a small knob of butter. This way, the corn takes on this tanned golden colour, is tender yet holds its texture just right – all in just a few minutes on the heat! Cooking corn this way in olive oil also works wonderfully, as I often make it for SS’s favourite taco salad.
This recipe is a classic 5 ingredient winner – butter, miso, corn, green onion and seasoning. I always like a kick of spice and lemon with my corn, so I made a little fresh jalepeno pickle with vinegar, sugar, lemon and salt, to add another dimension to the sweet corn with miso butter. SS preferred his without the jalepeno (surprise surprise!). This dish is totally gluten free (check your miso paste ingredients to be sure), but you can also make it vegan by swapping the butter for margarine or any other natural oil of choice.
- 2 cups fresh sweet corn kernels
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
- 2 tbs white miso paste
- 2 tbs butter
- 1 small white onion, sliced
- salt and pepper, to taste
- Stir together I tbs of butter and the miso paste in a small bowl.
- Cook the white onion in the balance 1 tbs of butter over moderate heat, stirring, until golden, 5 to 8 minutes. Add corn and pepper and increase heat to moderatley high, then cook, stirring constantly, until some of kernels are pale golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add a couple of tbs of water and the miso butter mixture and cook, stirring, until corn is tender and coated with miso butter, about 4 minutes.
- Stir in half green onion, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve sprinkled with remaining green onion and enjoy while its hot.
- I like to add a little bit of spice via jalepeno or red chilli powder.
