Mid-week Fabulous Corn with Lime and Manchego Cheese.

Corn with lime and manchego cheese!

Roasting corn is both easy and flavorful.  You simply put the corn, with husks and all on a baking sheet into a 450 degree F oven for 15 minutes.  Let it cool and you will find it simple to pull away the husks and strings.  What better way to trap the flavor of fresh corn than cooking it in it's own "house".  Boiling corn in water simply extracts too much of the vitamens and flavor into the water instead of leaving it on the corn.

Last night - I roasted 4 corn on the cob - cooled them, removed the husk and then cut the corn off the cob by placing it on the center piece of a bundt pan. Then, slice down the side, the corn falls into the pan instead of flying around your kitchen. Easy.

Corn cut off the cob

This corn was reheated later - in frying pan with 1-2 Tb olive oil until heated thru and light golden.  Off heat, add 1 Tb butter, salt and pepper.  To give it some kick - I added a finely chopped jalapeno pepper (wear gloves and do not touch your face until you have washed up after chopping it!), 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, zest from 1 lime, juice from same lime and finally 1/2-3/4 C shredded Manchego cheese.  Mix and finish with a sprinkle of chives (easiest to simply cut with scissors) (see top pic).  Delicious!

If you have not used Manchego cheese, you are in for a treat.  It is likely the most famous, and therefore most readily available, cheese from Spain. It comes from the milk of Manchego sheep raised in the La Mancha region.  This cheese has an amazing buttery, nutty flavor.  If completely unavailable to you,  the best substitute would be Pecorino Romano.

I hope you will try this simple take on corn - you can leave out some of the spicy aspects if necessary for the kids - but in every case, leave the lime!!!  It really brightens the corn.