Eat: A Moroccan spice paste turns fresh corn into a sensational side dish.
At a party recently, I served this corn dish as an ode to my upcoming trip to Morocco. Harissa is a Moroccan condiment with chile peppers, garlic, coriander, saffron and other spices. But you don’t have to go all the way around the world to have a little taste of Morocco at home. You can buy harissa in a tube or jar online or at most well-stocked grocery stores, which carry it in the specialty foods section.
Here I’ve added harissa to a compound butter, which is simply butter blended with herbs and other ingredients to enhance its flavor. With its cilantro and shallots, the compound butter is delicious even without the harissa, but the harissa complements the starchy corn beautifully for those who like a little heat and spice. The harissa butter is also wonderful with other vegetables, potatoes, rice or meats.
Compound butter on corn is a great trick, but I have two more corn-cooking tips to share. Corn turns out best when you add salt to the cooking water, so the kernels season as they cook. Add butter to the cooking water, too, and the corn emerges from the pot with a light buttery glaze. shallots until well chopped. Add 8 ounces butter and blend, scraping down the sides and blending again. Add the harissa and salt and blend. Taste the harissa butter and adjust seasoning, adding more harissa or salt to taste. You can serve the butter in a bowl as is, or create a log and serve it sliced. For a log, transfer the butter to a large piece of parchment. Roll and twist the ends to create a log. Refrigerate for an hour or two until firm. Slice into circles to serve.
For the corn, bring a large stock pot (or two large pots) of water to a boil. Add the salt and 1tablespoon butter. Cook the corn for 4 to 5minutes, until done.