Summer treat: corn relish

HALLIE EPHRON: Recently I discovered a recipe on Epicurious for corn relish spiked with bacon, a perfect side dish now that fresh corn is back in the supermarket. My version of the recipe is made with fresh corn cut from the cob (so much sweeter than frozen) and adds sweet red pepper and fresh cilantro. I've been serving it warm with pan-roasted or grilled fish.

Or turn it into a main dish on its own by adding lots of crumbled feta cheese.

Corn relish (for 4)

(Note the pictures are me cooking for 2)

Ingredients

- 4 strips of bacon

- 1 medium sweet onion (Vidalia) finely chopped

- Corn from 4 ears of corn: cut kernels from the cob and then scrape the ‘milk’ (juicy pulp) left on the cob off with the tip of a spoon and add it to the kernels (See video below)

- 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped into smallish pieces

- 2 T brown sugar

- 3 T fresh lime juice

- Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

1. Cook the bacon strips until crispy; remove, drain, and chop into pieces. SAVE THE FAT.2. In the bacon fat sautee the onion 4 minutes over low/medium heat. Add red pepper. Continue to sautee 3 MORE minutes.
3. Add corn, brown sugar, ¼ tsp salt, and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring. Turn off the heat.
4. Add lime juice, bacon. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix.
5. Serve warm, topped with cilantro.







In case you've never 'milked' a corn cob after cutting off the kernels, here's how:

What are you eating now that 'it's' in the market?