Grilled Corn & Ricotta Dip
We’re always looking for new and adventurous things to do with sweet corn. It’s not that we’re bored with the tried and true things, we simply want to eat as much corn as possible. This recipe warms the cockles of our corn-loving hearts. It’s grilled corn whirled up with cream, ricotta and thyme — and then scattered with Parm and baked ’til it’s bubbling hot and golden. It gets a handful of corn kernels, scallions and chives at the end, and it’s ready to go.
What could be easier? And it tastes wonderful: creamy, salty, smoky, herby and full of the corn’s natural sweetness. We love the textural pop of the whole corn kernels in all that gooey ricotta.
Everyone loves a good dip; it’s the ultimate happy hour food. Pair this one with toasty slices of baguette and a glass of sparkling wine, and your deck will go quiet with the pleasure of eating it. No worries, there’ll be plenty of time for talking when the dip is gone.
Tip: For the sparkling wine, try La Marca Prosecco. It’s the perfect balance of dry and sweet — it’ll cut through all that cheese with aplomb.
Yield: makes 6 cups
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 2 hours
Ingredients
6 ears of corn, shucked
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups ricotta
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons thyme, finely chopped
½ cup Parmesan, finely grated
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
Chives and scallions, finely chopped, for garnish
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Heat the oven to 325° F.
- Heat a grill pan over high and cook the corn until charred on all sides, 15 minutes.
- Cut the kernels from the cob, and purée two-thirds of the kernels in a food processor with the cream, ricotta, flour, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and stir in remaining kernels.
- Scrape the dip into an 8-inch baking dish, sprinkle with parmesan and dot with butter. Bake until bubbly, about 1 ½ hours.
- Garnish with chives and scallions to serve.
Recipe source: Saveur
