Summer Corn with Herbs and Lime

Corn with Herbs and Lime is an easy and fresh take on summer corn, and it pairs perfectly with whatever you're making during grilling season.

School is out and summer is finally here! It’s perfectly timed this year with Memorial Day weekend, and we can’t get to the pool/beach/lake fast enough. 

Which, besides sand and water and the smell of sunscreen, makes us think of poolside dinners and backyard barbecues. And then, quickly, our thoughts turn to what we’ll serve. Whatever your answer to that question might be, here is just the thing to serve alongside: Corn with Herbs and Lime. 

Corn with Herbs and Lime puts all the new, sweet, summer corn to work and leaves it unadulterated enough to let the fresh taste shine through. Still, it’s just a little bit more done-up than corn-on-the-cob, but only so much that it’s something different that will have everyone savoring summer corn in a new way. Bonus: This is the easiest thing you’ll serve. The hardest part (which isn’t hard at all, just a tad time consuming) is cutting the kernels off the corn. After that, you’ll give the corn a super quick sauté in a very shallow bath of butter – just enough to coat the kernels lightly – and add a pile of fresh herbs and a big squeeze of lime. The corn will still be crunchy, not cooked through. That’s it. Serve warm or at room temperature, it’s supremely forgiving.

Every time I’ve served this corn, people have gone crazy for it. It tastes like so much more than it is, but just keep that a secret, because you are going to get some points for this one.

Corn with Herbs and Lime

Ingredients:

8 ears of corn, husks and stems removed
1 ½ tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
½ cup minced fresh herbs (I use equal parts chives, basil, tarragon, parsley and dill)
Juice from one medium lime

Recipe directions:

Stand a corn ear on its stem end in a large bowl. With a large, sharp knife, cut down the sides of the cob to release the kernels. Repeat with all of the corn ears. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the corn, folding it into the butter so that the kernels are coated and just barely warm. You want the corn to stay crisp, almost raw. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in salt and pepper. Add the herbs, and then the lime juice. Serve warm or at room temperature.