I’ve been making this summery side dish for years, since college! It was one of the first things I ever cooked with George — diced up bell peppers and onion with corn and basil, with seared tuna on top. He thought I was an absolute wizard in the kitchen. I wasn’t then, but this updated version of that dish I used to cook so often is pretty special.
It’s quick and easy, the perfect side dish for a night when your grill is super full of other things and you just need to cook a quick veggie side indoors while someone else mans the grill.
The corn and peppers are buttery and full of flavor, and then, to make it super special, top it off with burrata. The burrata is entirely unnecessary, but the way it melts into the hot corn and peppers… mmm. It’s worth a shot.
This is the perfect side dish for grilled flank steak, grilled barbeque chicken, pan-seared shrimp, or a nice pork tenderloin. It’s hard to go wrong!
Buttery Corn and Peppers with Burrata and Basil
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Chef’s knife
- Large skillet (preferably nonstick)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 3 ears of corn, kernels removed (or 2 cups frozen corn kernels)
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter (use ghee for Whole30)
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup basil, thinly sliced, plus more for serving
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 4 ounces burrata, torn into as many pieces as you have eaters (omit for Whole30)
Substitutions:
- Olive oil—> any cooking oil, or use butter, but cook everything over medium heat (not medium-high), otherwise the butter will burn.
- Onion—> scallions, shallots, red onion, any type of onion! Or stir 1/3 cup diced chives in at the end, with the basil. Or, omit!
- Peppers—> any combo of these peppers works. I am not a fan of green bell peppers, but do your thing!
- Corn—> no corn? This dish is delish with peppers only. Try throwing some thinly sliced fennel in there!
- Butter—> you don’t have to add butter, but damn it’s good! Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil if you don’t want to use butter.
- Garlic—> 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.
- Smoked paprika—> regular paprika, or a pinch of cayenne for a little heat instead of smoke.
- Dried thyme—> omit, the basil gives plenty of herby flavor. A pinch of oregano or Italian seasoning would add a lot of flavor too, if you’ve got one of ‘em.
- Red pepper flakes—> black pepper, or a pinch of cayenne if you like heat.
- Basil—> cilantro, or 3 tablespoons oregano, or 1/4 cup chopped parsley.
- Lemon juice—> 1 tbsp of a light colored vinegar.
- Burrata—> totally fine to omit, or go with 1/3 cup of crumbled feta which would be equally fab in a different way (salty versus creamy).
Instructions
- Warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add 1 thinly sliced onion and three thinly sliced bell peppers and saute until softened but not limp, 4 to 5 minutes.Add 2 cups corn kernels, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 4 thinly sliced garlic cloves, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Continue cooking until the corn is crisp but no longer starchy, 2 to 3 minutes. If at any point the butter starts to brown or get smoky, reduce the heat to medium.
- Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup thinly sliced basil and the juice from half a lemon. Transfer to a serving platter or simply wipe down the sides of the skillet. Tear a 4 ounce ball of burrata and distribute over top. Garnish with more basil and serve.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 3 ears of corn, kernels removed (or 2 cups frozen corn kernels)
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter (use ghee for Whole30)
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup basil, thinly sliced, plus more for serving
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 4 ounces burrata, torn into as many pieces as you have eaters (omit for Whole30)
Substitutions:
- Olive oil—> any cooking oil, or use butter, but cook everything over medium heat (not medium-high), otherwise the butter will burn.
- Onion—> scallions, shallots, red onion, any type of onion! Or stir 1/3 cup diced chives in at the end, with the basil. Or, omit!
- Peppers—> any combo of these peppers works. I am not a fan of green bell peppers, but do your thing!
- Corn—> no corn? This dish is delish with peppers only. Try throwing some thinly sliced fennel in there!
- Butter—> you don’t have to add butter, but damn it’s good! Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil if you don’t want to use butter.
- Garlic—> 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.
- Smoked paprika—> regular paprika, or a pinch of cayenne for a little heat instead of smoke.
- Dried thyme—> omit, the basil gives plenty of herby flavor. A pinch of oregano or Italian seasoning would add a lot of flavor too, if you’ve got one of ‘em.
- Red pepper flakes—> black pepper, or a pinch of cayenne if you like heat.
- Basil—> cilantro, or 3 tablespoons oregano, or 1/4 cup chopped parsley.
- Lemon juice—> 1 tbsp of a light colored vinegar.
- Burrata—> totally fine to omit, or go with 1/3 cup of crumbled feta which would be equally fab in a different way (salty versus creamy).
Loved it! Thanks so much for the recipe!