FRESH HERBS, RIPE TOMATOES & LUXURIOUS SWEET CORN
SARINA ROFFE
Pesto alla Genovese is a Genoan sauce traditionally made from basil, crushed garlic, pine nuts, coarse salt and Parmesan cheese, all blended with olive oil. Basil has a flavor between cloves and licorice. It is popular to prepare basil pesto in the summer because it grows well and has a delightful fragrance. I go into my summer herb garden and grab whatever is there, merging the flavors into an exciting herb pesto that stands out. I typically leave out the cheese, for a parve recipe.
Give me my fresh herbs and send me to heaven. My go-to fresh herbs are basil, mint, parsley, oregano rosemary, thyme and dill. I almost always have these in the fridge. Mint? I am a Mediterranean cook, need I say more? The flavor is fairly intense, and I love it in soups and salads and also in my pesto.
Besides summer tomatoes and basil, my most cherished summer vegetable is that silky, luxurious sweet corn that appears in farmers markets in August. Sweet Silver Queen corn (grown in the Northeast) delivers a mouthful of succulence in each bite.
The unusual sweetness occurs because the Silver Queen does not turn the sugar into starch during growth. In one serving of corn on the cob, there are 7.5 grams of carbohydrates and 1.5 grams of protein. The total fat in corn on the cob is 0.8 gram, and there is also 0.8 gram of dietary fiber per serving. Corn on the cob consists mostly of carbohydrates in comparison to fat and protein. There are 44 calories per serving of corn on the cob.
When I grew up, there was only one way to make corn. Boil water, add the corn, bring water back to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes. We always ate the corn with our barbecue by brushing it with butter or margarine and sprinkling it with salt. It was corn in its most natural form and as kids, we could never get enough of its delicious sweetness!
Lately, I have become a lover of grilled corn. There are so many ways to prepare it. Some recipes for grilling corn on the cob involve grilling it in the husk, inside heavy duty aluminum foil or without the husk on the grill. The primary difference between using the husk or foil and leaving the corn unwrapped has to do with the texture of the corn. Grilling corn on the cob in aluminum foil requires wrapping the corn in the foil and grilling it for approximately 20 minutes on medium heat.
Grilling the corn without the husks takes less time, about 10-12 minutes. Basically, you brush the corn with a dressing, such as butter, salt and pepper, and grill, turning it every 2-3 minutes until tender and slightly charred.
Following is my recipe for herb pesto as well as two variations on grilled corn, one with and one without the husks. I encourage you to experiment with toppings and spices. Parsley, basil and mint are great fresh spices. You can add these after grilling or mix with butter or mayonnaise dressing. I also love rolling the corn in parmesan cheese, when eating with grilled salmon. There are so many ways to grill the corn and each has its own tangy flavor.
Of course, you can enjoy the corn, just by boiling it, as my mom did! For corn salad recipes, please see my cookbook Backyard Kitchen: Mediterranean Salads, available on Amazon. I particularly love tomatoes and corn, with just a taste of red onion and a simple oil and lemon dressing. Other recipes can be found on my website sarinassephardiccuisine.com.
HOME-GROWN SUMMER HERB PESTO
Ingredients
• Bunch of fresh basil leaves
• 6-8 cloves of fresh garlic
• Bunch of fresh parsley leaves
• 4 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
• Bunch of mint leaves
• ½ cup pine or walnuts (optional)
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ cup olive oil
Directions
Place basil, garlic, parsley, mint, and thyme in food processor. Add salt and pepper and nuts, if adding. Turn on high and when herbs are chopped, slowly drizzle in olive oil. Store in tightly sealed jar in refrigerator up to 2 weeks. To freeze, pour into jar, top with olive oil, and seal tightly. Freezes for up to three months.
MUSTARD GARLIC AND HERB GRILLED CORN IN HUSKS
Ingredients
• 4 ears corn on the cob
• 2 tablespoons margarine or butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon each of basil, oregano and thyme
Directions
Heat grill to medium heat. Pull back husks of corn, being careful to leave husks attached at bottom of each ear. Remove and discard corn silk. Rinse corn.
Combine margarine, mustard, garlic and seasonings. Spread about 1 tablespoon of the mustard mixture onto each ear of corn. Rewrap husks around corn. Grill 15 to 20 minutes or until corn is tender, turning frequently to prevent husks from burning. Serve warm.
NO HUSK GRILLED MEXICAN CORN
Ingredients
• 4 ears sweet corn
• ¼ cup onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
Directions
Heat grill to medium heat. Pull husks off corn and rinse. Combine remaining ingredients. Brush about 1 tablespoon of the mixture onto each ear of corn. Grill 10 minutes, turning every 3-4 minutes until corn is tender and slightly charred. Serve warm.
A genealogist and historian, Sarina Roffé is the author of Backyard Kitchen: The Main Course, Backyard Kitchen: Mediterranean Salads, and the cooking app, Sarina’s Sephardic Cuisine. She also wrote Branching Out from Sepharad (Sephardic Heritage Project, 2017), and is the editor of Dorot, Sarina holds a BA in Journalism, and MA in Jewish Studies and an MBA. Sarina is President of the Sephardic Heritage Project, Co-Chair of the Brooklyn Jewish Historical Initiative and Chair of the Sephardic Research Division of JewishGen.
