I think many of us have lately been buying frozen vegetables of kinds and in amounts that we normally wouldn’t, just to make sure we will always have some vegetables in the house, and, with that thought in mind, the other day I shared my grandmother’s recipe for frozen peas. Today, I’ve got some ideas about how to dress up frozen corn.

The real seasonal treat, of course, is fresh-picked corn on the cob, steamed or boiled. But in the middle of winter, frozen corn can give you a little taste of summer, and yet I found plain frozen corn a bit lacking. Thinking about how corn has a wonderful natural sweetness and works well with butter, I improvised and discovered how much better it is when you sauté the kernels in butter, rather than just putting butter on top of steamed corn.

That is the base recipe, and I’ve played with some variations. If there are figs in the store, I like to cook those briefly, cut side down, after the corn has been sautéed and then drizzle everything with a bit of balsamic vinegar. Last night, I looked around the kitchen and saw some fresh ginger, so I decided to try adding that. We also had some leftover roasted carrots I decided to toss in with the corn as well. So as much as I give a recipe below, also think about looking around your kitchen to come up with your own variations! And if you find a variation that works really well that you’d like to share, please send me an email about it!

I will confess that I already had bags of corn in the freezer from last summer, so that is one vegetable I did not recently buy from the frozen section. Every time we have corn we buy 6 ears, even through there are only two of us. I cut the rest off the cob and freeze it for the winter (in freezer bags labeled with the amount). If you haven’t done that in the past, maybe you’ll think about doing so this summer! Nonetheless, this idea works just as well with corn from the supermarket.

Sautéed Corn

Serves 2

2 cups frozen corn
1½ Tablespoon unsalted butter
½-¾ teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch fresh ground pepper
Drizzle of balsamic vinegar, optional

Variation #1

Leftover roasted carrots, chopped (about ¼ cup), or other leftover vegetable

Variation #2

4-5 fresh figs, cut in half

Place the frozen corn in a colander to defrost and drain. If you find the corn is especially wet once it has thawed, squeeze it gently to get rid of some of the water. It doen’t have to be dry, but if there’s too much liquid, the kernels will not sauté properly.

Melt the butter in a medium nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat. (I find a nonstick pan easier because of the sugars in the corn, but it’s not absolutely necessary.) Add the ginger, and stir to infuse the butter with the ginger flavor.

Add the corn, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and try to spread the corn out in one layer. Allow the corn to cook, stirring occasionally, but not too much so that the sugars will begin to caramelize.

Once you begin to smell the sugars caramelizing, the corn is ready, or you can add a variation. For #1 above, just toss in the cut up roasted carrots (or other vegetable) and cook until warmed through. For #2 above, clear out spaces in the pan and add the figs cut side down. (This is better with a nonstick pan, or add some extra butter or some olive oil so the figs don’t stick too much.) Allow the cut sides to cook a bit so that the juices begin to caramelize, then turn the figs over carefully and stir gently to mix in with the corn.

Drizzle with balsamic vinegar, if using, and serve warm.

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