Photo: Kathy Gunst/Here & Now
This simple seaweed butter can be made using frozen/fresh seaweed or regular dried seaweed. Kelp works well, but feel free to substitute with any type of dried seaweed you have on hand. The seaweed butter can be made ahead of time (cover and refrigerate) and will keep for up to three days.
Grilled Corn on the Cob with Seaweed Butter
(Serves 2-4)
Ingredients
For the seaweed butter
- 1/4 cup dried seaweed, or one (0.6 ounce) Atlantic Sea Farms Kelp Cube
- 3 tablespoons room temperature lightly salted butter
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pinch dry ginger, optional
- 1 pinch chile flakes or hot pepper sauce, optional
- 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon or lime zest, optional
For the corn
- 4 ears corn, husks pulled back (but not removed), silk removed
- Vegetable oil for the grill
Instructions
- To make the seaweed butter: If using dried seaweed, place the seaweed in a spice grinder, blender, or food processor and whirl until pulverized. In a small bowl, mix the (dried or fresh) seaweed and the butter until thoroughly incorporated. Season with pepper to taste. Mix in optional ingredients if you like.
- Preheat a gas or charcoal grill until hot, about 450 degrees. Lightly oil the grates with the oil. Place the corn on the hot grill with the husks hanging over the edge so they don’t cook or burn. Grill the corn about 3 to 4 minutes per side, depending on how young or thick the kernels are, turning the corn once or twice.
- Remove the hot corn from the grill and place on a platter. Place a teaspoon or so of seaweed butter on each ear of corn and serve any remaining butter on the side.
Notes
Recipe courtesy of Kathy Gunst/Here & Now, as part of “An Ocean Of Culinary Possibilities Using Fresh Seaweed Harvested In The US.” Kathy is the resident chef of NPR’s Here & Now and the author of 16 cookbooks. Her latest is, Rage Baking — The Transformative Power of Flour, Fury, and Women’s Voices (Tiller Press/Simon and Schuster).