Is anyone else having as much trouble as I am procuring decent corn this summer? It happened (albeit slightly early) with the corn & prosciutto crisp last month, and it happened again this week: I go to the store expecting bins overflowing with cheap, fresh, delicious corn and find a sad little pile of overpriced, desiccated cobs that look destined for someone’s bird feeder. I specifically don’t grow corn in the yard because it’s always so cheap, abundant and delicious elsewhere, and this is the first year it looks like that decision is going to come back and bite me in the butt. I might have to do without, or at least play pretend with a few bags of frozen corn. So, dear readers, if you have access to plump, fresh, juicy ears of corn, this recipe is for you. It’s intentionally simple to bring out the sweetness of the corn against the savoriness of the Parmesan.
As below it makes about 2 large servings (keeping in mind I’m currently 6 months pregnant and gross).
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups corn kernels (I only had 1 cup, but 1 1/2 would’ve been great, too): 50 cents
• 1 cup arborio rice: 92 cents
• 3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock (I used Better Than Bouillon): 25 cents
• 2 T butter: 12 cents
• 1 onion, chopped: 20 cents
• 1/2 cup Parmesan, grated: 70 cents
• Salt & pepper: 2 cents
TOTAL: $2.71/2 = $1.36/serving
Heat the stock in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Melt the 2 T butter over medium heat in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook until translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Add the rice and cook until edges of rice become translucent, about 3 minutes. Deglaze the pot with 1/2 cup of chicken broth and cook, stirring constantly, until absorbed, about 2 minutes.
And now, for the kinda-cheating-but-perfect-every-time technique I use for every risotto: Add the 3 cups hot broth all at once, reduce heat to medium low, and cook, covered, for about 18 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking. When finished, stir for 3 minutes straight to release starch until rice becomes noticeably creamy. Stir in the cheese and corn and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and let sit covered for 5 minutes before serving.
