Roasted sweetcorn ribs with chilli-honey butter

These ribs are finger-lickin' good! Be careful when cutting the corn as it's easy to slip.

Roasted sweetcorn ribs with chilli-honey butter. Photo: Lucy Corry / RNZ

Serves 4-6 as a side or a snack

• 4 whole sweetcorn, husked
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper

For the chilli-honey butter:

• 125g butter, at room temperature
• 2 Tbsp honey
• A fat pinch of dried chilli flakes
• ½ tsp sweet smoked paprika, optional
• 1-2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice or vinegar
• Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• A handful of finely chopped fresh parsley, to serve

Heat the oven to 220C. Line an oven tray with foil or baking paper (not essential, but makes cleaning up easier later).

Prepare the corn first: set it on a non-slip chopping board and get a sharp, heavy knife. Cut the corn in half lengthways, then cut each half through the middle. Cut these pieces in half – you should end up with eight skinny pieces of corn. (You may also end up with bits of corn everywhere, so be prepared for a bit of cleaning up at the end.)

Put the corn in a bowl and drizzle over the olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper and toss well until the corn is well-coated in the oil and seasoning.

Arrange the corn on the oven tray, cut sides up. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn over and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the corn is starting to brown in parts. If your oven is a bit feeble, use the grill setting for this final cooking.

While the corn is cooking, put the butter, honey, chilli flakes, smoked paprika and lemon juice in a small bowl and beat until combined. Taste and add more honey or chilli to suit your preferences.

When the corn is cooked, transfer it to a serving dish. Dollop a generous spoonful of butter on each rib and sprinkle over some flaky sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and finely chopped fresh parsley. Eat with gusto!