Sweet Summer Corn Risotto

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet summer corn (bada badaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa), good times never seem so good (so good, so good)!

Oops, wrong words.  My bad.

 

So now that I’ve gotten “Sweet Caroline” stuck in your head for the remainder of the day (you’re welcome), let’s talk about corn.  Sweet summer corn.  Just doesn’t get any better than that!  Back when I was growing up and had braces for the better part of my childhood (read: 6 years) I could never really enjoy corn on the cob the way that others could.  There’s just something about biting into that first ear of corn, the kernels popping in your mouth under the weight of your teeth, the sugary starches flowing out, and then the subsequent flossing that will have to occur.

 

You know you’ll have to floss, right?  ALMOST makes it not worth it.  Almost.

Back to my story though:  I always had to eat the corn after my parents cut it off the cob for me.  It doesn’t make the corn any less sweet or delicious, but the experience man – the experience is what it’s all about.  This brings me up a couple years to college when I was living in an apartment with roommates for the first time.  Having to pay for my own place was quite the wake-up call, so we would always do our grocery shopping together and split the things that we all enjoyed.  Think:  chicken Ramen with cheddar cheese, marshmallows, and ice cream.

 

Then one fateful early summer day we happened upon a grocery store with fresh sweet summer corn on the cob for 5 cents an ear.  5 cents an ear. We’d be crazy not to swoop in on that deal!  So we bought a reasonable 6 ears total so we could each have 2 over the following week.  Well my friends, the second we ate the first ear we were starting to cook the second and within a matter of about an hour we were back at the store buying a dollar’s worth of summer corn apiece.  That’s 20 ears per person.

 

And yes, I pulled out the calculator for that one.  No shame.

 

Suffice to say going to the bathroom was – ahem – interesting over the following week.  But cheap corn has never tasted so good as it did back then!

SWEET SUMMER CORN RISOTTO

• 4 green onions, sliced finely
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 cups chicken stock
• kernals from 3-4 ears of fresh husked summer corn
• 1/4 cup sour cream (optional; you could also use Greek yogurt)
• salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy bottom saucepan melt the butter and oil together over medium low heat.  Saute the green onions and garlic together for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly to insure it doesn’t burn.  Add the rice and saute until the rice starts to brown a bit, about 3-5 minutes.  Add the white wine to deglaze the pan and stir until all of the liquid is gone.  Add the stock 1/2 a cup at a time, stirring each time until the liquid is completely absorbed.  When you have 1 cup remaining add the corn to the mixture.  Make sure you test the rice for doneness; you don’t want it to be crunchy in the middle still, but not mushy either.  If it’s still hard in the center add another 1/2 cup of water until it’s done.  Stir in sour cream if using.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve hot!

There’s nothing like the promise of summer to bring back some crazy fun memories of life…get ready for the ride!