roasted red corn with warm cumin butter
June 10, 2014 § 90 Comments
Amusingly the market’s sign on this corn read “Red White Corn”. Hmm. That was enough for me to place three in the basket and roast them for dinner. I like trying different varietals of vegetables, for no other reason than “variety”. The other day we picked up pinky sized zucchini and although I do enjoy bitter flavor they were a bit too much for my palate. Other interesting vegetable varietals I have seen are purple green beans, purple carrots, yellow watermelon and of course lovely red blood oranges.
Recipe adapted from Epicurious. Serves 3.
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 3 ears of red white corn
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- sea salt and pepper
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 scallions, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
M e t h o d
If you are roasting your corn in the oven, preheat oven to 450°F.
In a dry small heavy skillet toast seeds over moderate heat, shaking skillet, until fragrant, about 1 minute, and cool. In an electric coffee/spice grinder finely grind seeds with a sprinkling of salt. In a saucepan melt butter with cumin salt and stir in scallion greens and lemon juice. Cool butter.
While butter is cooling, peel back husks from corn, leaving them attached at base of ears, and discard silk. Brush kernels with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Roast in oven for 30 minutes until corn turns a golden brown. Remove the corn from the oven and allow to cool. If you are leaving your kernels on the cob, serve with warm cumin butter. Otherwise, slice the corn kernels off of the cob and toss with warm cumin butter.
COTTAGE GROVE HOUSE 
This is so gorgeous. I have never tried red corns. Time to try. Cumin butter sounds delish.
I have never noticed red corn at the market before. It was nice and colorful. And yes…cumin butter was fantastic Sonal…
Seana…this looks so delicious! I don’t know if I’ve ever seen red corn around here. I mean, I’ve seen it dried in the Fall, but never to eat during the summer. I need to find it! The combination of ingredients are perfect! How does it compare to yellow or white corn?
As always… your photos are gorgeous…Perfect. <3
Hope all is well.. We need to catch up! <3
Hi there Prudy! Honestly, the red corn’s flavor wasn’t any different than yellow, maybe not as sweet as white, but hardly noticeable. Hope you are doing well! :) I’ve been keeping it simple in the kitchen these days. Seriously. If you can believe it this corn was all we had for dinner the other night! :) Then we had to laugh because we ended up making popcorn later that evening! Weird. Talk soon!
Seana..This is just stunning! Can’t wait to try it! :)
Hey! Thanks Dimple. :)
Warm cumin butter…wow! You have me intrigued! And never seen red white corn…gorgeous!
Next time you make corn definitely try warm cumin butter with it, it’s fantastic. So flavorful and simple.
Beautiful, never ate red corn, or red white corn for that matter. I have seen it dried for a fall decoration. Love the recipe, the cumin butter sounds delicious with the corn. I too love trying different varietals of vegetables.
Red corn was a first for us too. I’m not even sure if it is the same as the dried decorative corn that can be found in the fall? The warm cumin butter was fabulous and really belongs on fresh corn on the cob!
Wow. It’s hard enough to find regular corn on the cob in this country, so red corn is only something I can dream of trying some day! It looks beautiful, and I am sure it tastes fabulous. And I love how simple and yet flavorful this recipe is.
Honestly Darya, I was very amused when I saw the red corn in the market. I couldn’t pass by and not buy them. What a joy when we peeled back the husk to reveal such a lovely color. The warm cumin butter is wonderful, maybe you will find some yellow or white corn to try with the cumin butter. :)
Sounds delicious, Seana…I’ll have to look for red corn in my area, as I’ve never seen it before. The cumin salt sounds wonderful!
Hi Nancy! Isn’t this red corn a kick? Even if you don’t find red corn, try the warm cumin butter on yellow or white…it’s delicious!
I’m on the hunt for red corn! Thanks for sharing.
Hope you find some! It is spectacular to peel back the husks and see such an unexpected vibrant color. But honestly, it didn’t taste any different than white or yellow corn. :)
Red White Corn.. haha.. Seems like it should be striped! :) Lovely looking veggie..
Isn’t it a hoot? You never know…there just might be a striped corn out there. Really was lovely to serve such colorful corn.
I’ve never seen red corn before! Can’t wait to try it. Thanks!
Found it at QFC. Keep an eye out for it!
Thanks! I’m on it. Can’t wait. :)
Beautiful red white corn, Seana. I’ve never had this varietal, but have been noticing other colors of corn and vegetables popping up here and there. It’s always interesting to eat purple asparagus or purple potatoes and white watermelon. Delicious looking recipe, too, a must try for me this summer at my next BBQ.
Hi Ngan. It really is interesting to see so many variations of fruits and vegetables. I haven’t tried purple asparagus yet, but we cooked little purple potatoes for breakfast last weekend. Didn’t taste any different than regular fingerlings. And although they were delicious for some reason I felt a little bothered by the color. Not enough to stop me from devouring a nice serving though! Thank you… :)
Ohhhhh…. I’ll try this today! :-)
Oh good! Let me know how you like it. :)
Hi Seana, I have never tried red corn before, but after reading your post about how delicious this is, will have to get my hands on some. Love how you thoughtful prepared this, your presentation is wonderful.
Thank you Cheri. If you can’t find it in red hopefully you’ll try the warm cumin butter with white or yellow corn. Thank you for your nice compliment.
So pretty and sounds so delicious…
It really is a lovely hue isn’t it. Not sure if I’ll ever find red corn again but it certainly presented itself well in the bowl. :)
The corn looks beautiful Seana! Never seen red corn before! Lovely & i love the sound of warm cumin butter :)
Thank you, it was very lovely both in flavor and presentation. I imagined it would taste the same as yellow or white corn and sure enough, no different. :)
I like trying different colors of veggies, too. I haven’t seen any red corn yet, but I will be on the lookout for it! :)
It’s always fun to change up the look of the meal simply by buying the vegetable in a different color! Apparently red corn has been around for ages. It’s new to me though! :)
Interesting corn. I love the color… That dish is something that my husband and I would love. Gotta try it!
Hi Bobbi. We really enjoyed this corn with the cumin butter. It certainly went well together. I may have to make this again and maybe even spice it up a little with jalapeños!
Delicious and lovely images. x
Rosa. Hi. Thank you so much, lovely to see you here today! :)
Very nice indeed.
I like your theory on trying random coloured vegetables… More people should give that a go. A lot of those veg are the old school heirloom varieties – the original colours of said veg… How about that. Smiley face.
You might just be right. I have seen this color of corn but it’s not for cooking, it’s hard and people buy it for for decorative purposes. We called it Indian corn. And that stuff’s been around forever! I like your old school heirloom theory.
This looks delicious. I would have taken the red corn too. It seems summery with the lemon juice! I think cumin enhances just about anything with corn. I have a corn, black bean cumin salsa that I like to put of swordfish. It’s so good! Beautiful photos.
You are right. Cumin and corn belong together! :) Your black bean cumin salsa sounds wonderful on top of swordfish. Now there is a fish I never cook! Why oh why do I stick to salmon, halibut and cod? I’ll have to come over and check out your swordfish recipe for inspiration. :) Oh, and call me obsessed. I have made your cookies 3 times now! I made them for our neighbors the other day and they had to cancel at the last minute. Guess who ate too many cookies. And I made another batch for my sons friend because after he ate one out of my son’s lunchbox he loved them! They are incredible, especially warm with vanilla bean ice cream!
Hilarious! I keep making them too! They’re so good! And you seem like an expert because they’re unique. I’m like you with fish, honestly. I make salmon every mon night. The other fish are a rare treat. I stick with a good thing like you do! Xo.
Never seen red corn in our part of the world either, but no matter, cumin butter will be trialled come next summer. I always check to make sure the unusually coloured veg is an old variety and not GM before I try them out!
Good point. You never know unless you search it out. :)
Seana, delicious with cumin and beautiful :) The red corn reminds me African mask with feathers (I have a lot of imagination) !
I had to laugh when I read this because I can see what you are imagining. :) It really does look like a mask!
Would never have come up with this combination but this Cumin butter sounds delicious! I love it’s exotic taste and smell :-)
Don’t know what’s come over me but I have been using so much cumin lately. I always buy my spices in bulk and typically buy a small amount just to keep it fresh. But this last time I really loaded up the little bag with cumin seed because I keep running out! Hope you try the cumin butter, it’s delicious…
This looks and sounds like something I would love. I really like using cumin, but I’ve never seen red corn around here. I have to check that out.
First time I have seen red corn too. Maybe it will become widely available…and cumin with corn is so lovely. I think it would be nice with a little jalapeño too! Thank you for stopping by. :)
Nice idea…..we can never get corn on the cob here…they appear to grow acres of corn, but it’s all for the animals.
Interesting. I wonder why French folks don’t eat corn on the cob…
Love seeing different varieties of fruit and vegetables just like this one Seana. Makes you realise how much diversity we’ve lost over the years, that we’re all surprised to see corn that’s not yellow (or white… which you don’t often see here in Australia anyway) Your corn looks totally delicious… and I’m going to have to try this cumin butter next time I cook corn!
It’s true. It is nice to see heirloom varietals coming back around. Some varietals seem to have been lost in the large commercially produced food chains that line the market shelves in cans and frozen packages. I always like finding irregular shaped vegetables. Especially heirloom tomatoes!
Red corn is not available here but the cumin butter is something to try. Thanks!
Yes! Do try the cumin butter if you get a chance. It’s wonderful and so quick to throw together. Nice to see you here! :)
Okay, I’m pinning this for grilling season, which, oh my God, is here. Nice post. Really sounds delicious. Ken
Hey Ken, thank you! Not much to it, just keeping it simple on this one. Sometimes I hesitate when clicking the publish button. I ask myself “Is this just too simple to share?” :)
Ha! I keep wishing for posts like that! I always ask, “Is this too complicated to share?” Ken
What a beautiful dish Seana! Seriously, some day I’m getting up to the farmers market in your neighborhood. You always come up with the most beautiful, intriguing produce! fun post!
Ha! It is always an education going to the farmer’s market. I see some of the most interesting fruits and vegetables, as well as artisan food products too! Someday you’ll have to come to Seattle and visit!
It’s on my list of places we’ve never been, but I’d LOVE to spend some time in…
Wow I’ve never tried red corn, but it looks delicious! I love how you’ve roasted it. I always just steam or boil corn but roasting I’m sure is so much better!
That is exactly how I grew up eating corn…steamed or boiled. You must try it roasted (or grilled). It’s fantastic and I think you’ll never boil them again. :) I haven’t since I learned this method.
I have seen other blogs with similar recipes but never spotted red corn over here in Belgium! I am intrigued!
This must be a tasty recipe to try red corn! I love cumin a lot too! :)
Wouldn’t imagine red corn in Belgium. :) Come to think about it…I wouldn’t imagine red corn anywhere except maybe Mexico! I was intrigued for sure.
😉
Wow! Never seen such corns around here! Amazing dish, Seana! I’m sure it smells incredible!
Butter and toasted cumin…aromatherapy. Thank you for your kind comment! :)
Warm cumin butter sounds amazing, what a great combination!
Thank you Mary Frances! Warm cumin butter really is amazing with corn. Hope you’ll try it sometime, it’s a winner.
I have never tried red corn, Seana. I love the way you prepared it!
First time I had red corn too. Never even heard of it before last week. Tasted like ordinary corn, however it was a very pretty color. :) Thank you Patty…
Red white corn! I love that! Corn doesn’t appear where I live until August, so I’ll have to wait a while, but when it does this roasted corn with cumin butter is on the menu! Thanks for the recipe.
Hi there muffin myth! …Katie :) I feel it is a bit early for corn, although the markets are full of it right now. Most likely being trucked in from California. I think our local corn will harvest in late July or August. Which is when I really should be buying it anyway! I just couldn’t resist the red corn. I’m going to pick up a big bag of almond’s today to make your almond milk! I’m looking forward to reading your blog. Love your background and couldn’t agree more with your philosophy. Glad to have found you…
Thank you :)
I hope you like the almond milk – and don’t toss the pulp! I’ve got a recipe coming next week that uses it up :)
I’ve never seen red corn before but the lovely tinges of red against gold (or white?) are rather stunning. The cumin butter sounds like an amazing accompaniment Seana, you always make the most beautifully seasoned things! I’m going to try this… with or without the red corn. I love being introduced to all of these gorgeous unique ingredients that I’ve never heard of before! xx
Laura, hi. I have never seen red corn either, and when I picked it up at the store I only saw the sign and the tips so you can imagine how surprised I was when I got home and shucked the corn to see the vibrant red kernels. Your comments are always so sweet and thoughtful, thank you so much. I always light up when I see you have stopped by. :)
Aw, thanks so much lovely. I appreciate you hugely! x
Very interesting! I have never tried red corn…What’s the taste like? It would be quite difficult to find over here, in Italy. I just love the fact that, as blogger we get to see so many different things and in a way, experience them through somebody else’s blog…it’s just great!
Hi Serena. The red corn tasted exactly like yellow corn. My favorite is white corn. It seems to be sweeter and a bit more tender too. I agree with you about seeing blogs from other countries and experiencing so many different types of foods and recipes. It is my favorite pass time! :)
Thank you! :-)
Corn! Wowsers – we are just getting around to asparagus season! But goodness me, I absolutely love what a creative market shopper you are. I’d love nothing more to follow you round the market. The corn looks amazing and the cumin butter – heavenly. Have you tried violet potatoes yet?
Hi Lindy! I feel like it is early for corn too, but the market is full of corn right now. Of course if I was growing my own I wouldn’t be harvesting until late July! I have tried violet potatoes. We had some just last week. I found a little bag of fingerlings with a medley of yellow, red and violet potatoes. Delicious, and I just imagined how delicious this cumin butter with be with those potatoes too!
Oh – I’ve seen those fingerling potatoes here in a variety of colour and now I want to try them with your cumin butter. I think that’s brilliant. Thank you for all the inspiration you constantly provide! <3
That is beautiful corn! And I love that you didn’t smother it with other flavors. You just let it shine. Perfect!!!
I would have done the same thing, grab the red beauties and go home straight to the kitchen! I love corn and the cumin butter sounds wonderful. The burned husk still attached to the corn is a thing of beauty! Here’s a tip: Your images would stand out more if you adjusted the white balance. Looking forward to you next post =)
I’ve also never seen red corn but I’m going to hunt for it. We’re a corn-loving family and I like the idea of shaking things up. I think my boys will be amazed. Chilli flakes, garlic and olive oil are as fancy as I get with corn toppings. Definitely giving your cumin butter a burl. Soon! Yum.
PS. I feel like an eavesdropper but I’m intrigued by the cookies you mentioned in 1 of your comments. They must be excellent if you’ve made them 3 times!
So good to see you here Saskia! Honestly the red corn was dazzling, however, after trying it if I had a choice between red or white…I would pick white. It is sweeter and the kernels are bit more tender. Next batch of corn I make will have chili flakes, garlic and olive oil for sure! Why have I not had that on corn before? It’s brilliant. You must go visit Amanda’s Diablo Cookie post. Never had a cookie this good before!
http://sercocinera.wordpress.com/2014/06/04/salted-chocolate-diablo-cookies/
Oh my! You had me at ‘diablo’. Those cookies sound amazing. Pinning to try later.