Feasting on Art: Grilled corn

At your next cookout, try grilled corn seasoned with with Parmesan, lime, and paprika.

Eat This Poem is a new blog that combines food and poetry in much the same way Feasting on Art considers food and art. Eat This Poem is written by Nicole Gulotta who has an MFA in poetry enabling her to marry beautiful words with delicious food. Working with her on a collaboration only felt natural and when she suggested a post investigating William Carlos Williams and Pieter Bruegel, I knew I was fated to work with her.

While an undergrad I double majored in both English and History of Art and in my final semester, I did an entire course in William Carlos Williams. My major paper considered the collection of poems titled "Pictures from Bruegel" which is a composite representation of Bruegel’s work through the viewpoint of Williams. The poetry illustrates the way in which Williams’ eye follows the canvas and his impressions while gazing upon the works.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, the 16th-century Flemish Renaissance painter, was a master landscape artist. Within these landscapes, small narratives are depicted which are focused on the life of the working class society. The scenes are split between work and play with subjects varying from wedding dances to haymaking as pictured in "The Harvesters." This panel is one of six created to depict the seasons and represents the late summer/early autumn when peasants would reap the hay.

Rather than focus on the action of the peasants, Bruegel chose to take a broad view of the landscape to portray the way in which the land is transformed through farming. Although the landscape is the heart of Bruegel’s painting, the subjects of "The Corn Harvest" by William Carlos Williams are the peasants in the foreground of the canvas. For further reading about Williams’ "The Corn Harvest" and an inspired recipe for a farmers egg sandwich with basil aioli, visit Eat This Poem.

Grilled Corncobs with Parmesan, Lime & Paprika
Inspired by a dish served at Ms.G’s in Potts Point

Yield: 2 servings

2 corncobs
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
juice of 1/2 of a lime
1/2 teaspoon hot paprika
handful of fresh coriander leaves

Husk the corncobs and remove all of the silk. Rub them with a bit of butter and place on a grill or in a griddle pan over medium-high heat. Cook for about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the size of the corncob, rotating every couple of minutes until the cob is evenly cooked. The corn will be soft and tender when done.

Remove from heat and immediately cover with a quarter cup of grated Parmesan cheese so the residual heat in the corn melts the cheese. Squeeze over the lime, dust with the hot paprika and scatter the coriander leaves. Serve immediately.

Related post on Feasting On Art: Spicy Sauteed Corn