Sweet Corn Cups

Golden yellow sweet corn epitomises the final part of summer to me, so when I saw some corn on the cob in my local Waitrose this week, not wrapped in plastic, but still wrapped in their green husks, I quickly bought some. This is what I came up with. It has already been tested out on friends and met with approval. I hope you like it too.

Ingredients - makes approximately 20

1 corn on the cob

Bacon jam or chilli jam. Home made or shop bought (Waitrose sell Eat 17 Bacon Jam or Stokes Chilli Jam for a veggie option)

Fresh thyme

Method

Cook corn on cob in boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Cool.

Using a sharp knife, cut the corn cob in half. Then cut the kernels off in long strips, keeping them attached to a thin layer of the cob. You should get 4 strips off each half.

Cut the strips of corn into bite size pieces (throw the stray corn kernels into a delicious salad).

Fill the sweet corn cups with a small spoonful of bacon or chilli jam and put a tiny sprig of thyme on top of each.

If you have the green husk, use some of this to serve the cups in (see picture). The filled sweet corn cups will keep, covered with damp kitchen towel, for several hours in the fridge.

Bacon Jam - makes enough to fill approximately 20 cups

Ingredients

75g streaky bacon, chopped finely

30g onion, chopped finely

2 tbs brown sugar

2 tbs apple juice

1 tbs sherry vinegar

Pinch chilli powder, to taste

Method

Cook the chopped bacon until the fat runs.

Add the finely chopped onion and cook until the onion is soft.

Add the rest of the ingredients and continue to cook until it becomes sticky and jammy in consistency, about 15 minutes.