PAN-SEARED
ZUCCHINI AND CORN
Can anyone else simply not wait for corn season to start
every year? I get so impatient that I’ll visit the farm stand
or supermarket every day toward the start of the season,
waiting for the first ears of the local stuff to hit the
market. The best way to eat corn is, of course, as elotes or
esquites, the Mexican street snack of grilled corn with
cheese, chile, lime, and cream. Or maybe the best way is
to bury it underground with a heap of seaweed, chouriço,
lobsters, and clams for a traditional New England
clambake. Oh no, wait. It’s gotta be corn chowder, or, oh
oh, I know—sautéed with butter and beans into savory
succotash. OK, so it’s good pretty much no matter how
you cook it. Here’s another one to add to your arsenal:
kernels charred in a skillet. If you separate the kernels
from the ear and cook them over crazy-high heat in a
skillet with a bit of oil, they get deeply charred while still
retaining a sweet bite. It’s my go-to method when cooking
corn indoors, because it allows you to capture some of the
smoky, complex, sweet flavor of grilled corn.
It’s a fantastic way to make a quick side for chicken,
pork, or seafood dishes, but it’s also great as the
centerpiece of a simple vegetable-based meal (you could
add some crisp cooked bacon and cook the corn in the
bacon fat if you want to up your meat factor). Add some