Corn-Serrano Grits

Ingredients:

1 ear of corn
2 serrano chiles
1 cup yellow stone-ground corn grits
1 Tbsp. fresh basil, cut in strips
1-1/2 tsp. olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375F or heat up a grill. Roast the whole corn in the oven for 45 minutes or grill it until the corn is nice and brown. Cut the kernels off the cob. Blacken the chiles in a hot skillet, no oil, and finely chop.

Bring 4 cups water to a boil and stir the grits in slowly. Simmer the grits until they are creamy, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in the roasted corn and the remaining ingredients.

Recipe from Texas Monthly Magazine, November 1999.