Corn ribs, Peru eats, my favorite food apps
Issue No. 2: Corn ribs, Peru eats, my favorite food apps
I’ve been busy since my last newsletter, just returning from a fun (and hot!) Italian holiday with my family. So much delicious food and drink was consumed, and I will share more from this amazing trip soon. For now, here’s my latest dish:
Corn ribs
‘Tis the season for amazingly delicious, sweet summer corn! These days, you can get corn on the cob from the grocery store almost year round, but there’s a significant taste difference in the corn bought in July or August versus December. One of my preferred ways to eat corn right now is as corn ribs. Corn ribs, aptly named for their shape and the manner in which they are eaten (just like a meat rib), have been trending for a few years, but lately I’ve been noticing them more and more on restaurant menus.
To make corn ribs, the cob is cut lengthwise through the core into quarters to yield long, thin ribs. Usually the ribs are then tossed with melted butter or oil and a mix of spices and herbs and then grilled or roasted until they char and curl slightly. Much like corn on the cob, you only eat the kernels, but for maximum satisfaction, I highly recommend sucking all the buttery, spicy goodness off the remnants before discarding.
I recently ate two restaurant corn rib dishes worth mentioning. The first, from Konban in NYC, is made with corn cheese powder and shio kombu (salted kelp) that results in a perfect blend of cheesy, salty, and umami goodness, with a hint of citrus from a squeeze of lime. I also thoroughly enjoyed the corn ribs at Mérito restaurant in Lima, Peru. Mérito’s version is made with a large kernel corn grown in the Andes called choclo, which is cut into ribs and grilled simply inside the husk and served with a cheesy, spicy dipping sauce on the side. The choclo has a milder flavor and starchier texture than sweet corn, which also lends to the uniqueness of the dish.
You can also make your own corn ribs at home. Here’s a corn rib recipe I make that my kids gobble up (always a reliable measure of success):
Cheesy, Spicy Corn Ribs
4 ears corn, shucked 2 tsp cheese powder (I got mine from Trader Joe’s) 2 tsp Kosher salt 1 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp ground black pepper 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 2 tbsp vegetable oil 4 tbsp unsalted butter 1 lime, cut unto 4 wedges Fresh cilantro, chopped, for serving Sriracha mayo (optional, but highly encouraged, for dipping)
Combine cheese powder, salt, and spices in a small bowl.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and while you wait, prepare an ice water bath in a large bowl. When water is boiling, add corn cobs and cook for 5 min. Place hot corn in the ice bath, drain and pat dry. This makes the corn much easier to cut.
Preheat grill to medium high or preheat oven to 450°F. Cut the corn cobs in half lengthwise through the core and then in half again to get quarters (see Pro Tip below). In a large bowl, toss the corn ribs with the 2 tablespoons oil, generously coat with spices and toss again, ensuring the ribs are thoroughly coated.
If using grill, place ribs kernel side down on grates and cook for 4 to 6 minutes until nicely charred in spots. If using oven, roast ribs kernel side down for 12-15 minutes until well browned. In a large bowl, immediately toss the hot corn with 4 tablespoons of butter until melted.
Serve warm garnished with chopped cilantro, a squeeze of lime, and dipping sauce (if desired) on the side. Enjoy!
Pro Tip: Cutting the corn ribs is the most challenging part of making them at home. Use a very sharp knife and as a first step, slice the ends off the cob (so the corn can stand steadily without slipping while being cut). Placing the cob upright on a flat end, cut the cob in half lengthwise down the center using several short, stiff pushes down with your knife (or just shimmying it a bit), and then carefully cut each half in half again to get quarters. Make sure your hands never hold the corn and are clear of the knife blade. If this all seems a bit intimidating (it took me several tries to master), you can alternatively cut the cob in half crosswise first and then quarter the halves lengthwise as already noted, resulting in shorter ribs.
Peru eats
My husband and I vacationed Peru in July to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. From the steamy jungles of the Amazon to the high altitude climes of the Andes and Machu Picchu, we were in awe of Peru’s beautiful, diverse geographies and climates throughout the country. The icing on the cake was eating some truly amazing local Peruvian cuisine. Lima in particular boasts a bustling food scene, with a plethora of food markets and restaurants that attract renowned chefs from all over South America and the world.
Some of my favorite local foods / dishes were:
Chulpi—an addictive snack made with large kernel corn called maiz chulpe that is toasted or fried and salted
Ceviche—raw fish or shellfish that’s marinated in citrus and seasonings
Lomo saltado—a traditional Peruvian stir fry dish with strips of steak, onions, tomatoes and fried potatoes, often served with rice
Alpaca burgers—crazy, I know, but these burgers are tasty and have a truly unique taste (to me, it most resembles lamb). You can find them in abundance in the Cusco region of the Andes where alpacas are native
Chulpi, a popular snack, are basically giant corn nuts 
A beautiful trout ceviche from Moray restaurant in Cusco, Peru
It’s also imperative when in Peru to drink a pisco sour, a popular Peruvian cocktail, or two. Traditional Pisco sours are made with 2 parts pisco (a spirit made from fermented grape juice), 1 part lime juice, 1 part simple syrup, and 1 egg white. This gets vigorously shaken together with some ice and then topped with a few drops of Angostura bitters right before serving. We sampled a healthy number of these throughout our trip and will undoubtedly be replicating them at home. Delicioso!
We also enjoyed one of our best meals in recent memory at Mérito restaurant, located in the trendy Barranco section of Lima. Venezuelan Chef Juan Luis Martínez is making highly inspired Peruvian and Venezuelan fusion dishes like fish curry and glazed pork belly with arepas that left us speechless. The scallop dish holds a spot in my top 5 bites of 2024, and I already mentioned the corn ribs. Mérito is a must visit for anyone traveling to Lima.
My “ride or die” food apps revealed
As an avid home chef and foodie, little makes me happier than keeping the various aspects of my culinary life well organized. Enter two of my favorite food apps that I rely on heavily to make my life infinitely easier and better.
Paprika helps you manage and organize your recipes, make meal plans, and create grocery lists. If you’re someone who finds a recipe on a web site, only to forget where you saw it when you’re ready to make it, or if you frequently print out your recipes to create household clutter, then this app is for you. There are quite a few recipe organization apps out there, but I like Paprika because it’s easy to use, has a nice interface, and can be synched across all devices. I use Paprika to track all of my online recipes (downloading them to the app for easy reference later). I like that I can bookmark new recipes I find, so as not to lose them later in the void. I also like that I can categorize and store my recipes however I like (e.g., shrimp scampi can be filed under both SEAFOOD and PASTA), making them easy to find later. Let’s say you have an excess of apples to use up. On Paprika, you can quickly search for your downloaded recipes containing apples to get ideas on what to make. And while I mainly use Paprika for the recipe storage and organization features, you can also make weekly meal plans and create grocery lists. There’s even a pantry feature that tracks ingredients you have on hand—when you bought them and when they expire. Paprika has been a huge organizational help for me and is definitely worth the small price paid (around $5, I believe). Highly recommend!
Another app I use a lot is Beli. Beli notes and ranks every restaurant you’ve eaten at, while helping you find new ones. Because I frequently provide recommendations to my friends on where to eat, I rely on Beli to help me keep track of where I’ve eaten (especially when I travel). Beli relies on ratings from its members to help rank and distinguish restaurants. Before I try a new place, it’s a lot of fun to read other people’s reviews and see what they recommend. You can follow your friends to see where they are eating out—seeing what they love and what they hate. The Beli population (at least among my friend group) is still growing, but I’m hopeful that I can convince you to check it out and follow me there (@kfaber), so we can inspire one another.
UPDATED! 2024 Best Bites
Not surprisingly, following my recent Italian vacation, I have a new entrant breaking into my top 5 (plus some fresh honorable mentions). I ate so much incredible food in Italy, so these bites are truly the top of the top!
Cinnamon roll from District Donuts (Las Vegas)
NEW! Pear ravioli from La Giostra (Florence, Italy). This was the best restaurant dish I ate in Italy (the lasagna verde alla bolognese that I made in a cooking class was probably my best bite of the vacation, but doesn’t qualify). La Giostra’s ravioli has a subtle sweetness from the pear, a lightness from the ricotta, and pasta cooked to al dente perfection and tossed in a heavenly butter sauce.
Pear ravioli from La Giostra in Florence, Italy Mazeman from Konban (NYC)
Stuffed gnocchi from Luigino’s (Montclair, NJ)
Scallop dish from Mérito (Lima, Peru)
My Italian honorable mentions: Eva gelato (ricotta base with orange zest, chocolate pieces, and chopped pistachios)) from OGGI Gelato Bologna; Florentine T-Bone steak from La Giostra, Florence; La Rossa sandwich (prosciutto, brie, truffle cream, arugula) from I’Girone Dei’Ghiotti, Florence; deep fried artichoke from Sheva Ristorante, Rome.
Thank you for supporting Dish Lister! Until next time, please keep the feedback coming. It is so valuable to hear what you like most and anything you’d like to see more of. If you liked what you read, please hit the Share button below to send to other fellow foodies, and follow me @dishlister on Instagram.