Fresh Corn & Hatch Chile Sauté

Fresh sweet corn cut right off the cob, sautéed with roasted Hatch chiles, tomatoes, and onion for a simple, fast and flavorful vegetarian or vegan side dish

I'm really not sure why this dish exceeded my expectations. If you start with fresh, local, seasonal ingredients you invariably come up with delicious foods with little effort. One example is this colorful side of freshly sautéed corn kernels spiced up with roasted Hatch chiles.

I was so busy with the social media sharing aspect of #IceCreamWeek [have you entered? the giveaway ends 31 August. One winner takes ALL. Enter here!] that I had very little mental energy for thinking up new and interesting ways to cook the veggies in our farm share.

But it's summer, and as this typical late summer Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share box shows--these veggies are pretty easy to use! I simply grabbed a few things out of the fridge and got going. I had a tomato that needed to be used NOW, so I tossed that in for color.

It was fast, it was easy, and it was tasty. We had the first batch for dinner, with fried eggs alongside since I keep forgetting to thaw some of the ground beef in the freezer (link to 106 recipes using ground beef, if you remember to thaw it in time). I ate the leftovers with a scoop of feta cheese stirred in, and my daughter ate hers with leftover Asian chicken and rice. I made it again for lunch with friends with the feta as a topping. Yum! It's a versatile dish to be sure.

Although I'll categorize this as a quick side dish that would easily adapt for vegans (substitute olive oil or vegan buttery spread) I also liked eating it, with a bit of feta or an egg, or both, as a meal. We liked this with 2 chiles, and most of their seeds, but if you want it hotter add another one, if you prefer more mild take one away.

Fresh Corn & Hatch Chile Sauté

2 Tablespoons butter (I use unsalted--substitute olive oil or vegan buttery spread if desired)

3 cups corn kernels, freshly cut off the cob

1-3 roasted Hatch chiles, chopped (or sub up to a cup of chopped roasted chiles of your choice)

½ cup diced onion (I used both red and white, shallots would also work)

½ cup chopped fresh tomato

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley (or cilantro if you've got it)

salt and pepper to taste (I started with ½ teaspoon of salt and a generous ¼ teaspoon of pepper and went from there)

optional and delicious: feta cheese and a fried egg

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add corn and stir to coat with fat. Sauté for 5 minutes until corn begins to become tender, then add the rest of the vegetables and sauté for another 5 to 8 minutes until everything is heated through. Taste, then toss in the herbs and season with some salt and pepper. Taste again until you like what you get. Serve--with or without a spoonful of feta stirred in and topped with a fried egg. Or use this to top a vegetarian pizza--recipe here.