Spice up at-home date night with this Grilled Corn & Smokin’ Bangers recipe created by our co-founder, and trained chef, James. Who knew corn could be so elegant?!
Fresh, hot-off-the-grill corn is the centerpiece of the dish and balances perfectly with the sweetness from caramelized yams and onions. Crispy chickpeas bring the crunch and our plant-based chorizo-style sausage adds the heat with poblano peppers.
Don’t be intimidated by its elevated look - whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, bringing the wow-factor is easily doable with the help of James’ tips and tricks.
It may take a little longer to whip up than boxed mac ‘n’ cheeze, but it is so worth it, trust us. You might even feel like you’re in a 5-star restaurant (regardless of how many coffee stains are all over your sweatpants).
Ingredients
- 1 Smokin’ Banger
- 2 whole corn on the cob
- 1 poblano pepper
- 1 medium yam
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tbsp Cajun spice
- 1 can chickpeas (drained)
- 4-6 tbsp light olive oil
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- Salt and pepper
- Cilantro leaves to garnish
Method
Roasted Veggies
Set oven to 350℃. Peel the yam and chop into 1-inch cubes. Add these to a roasting tray. Peel and thickly dice the onion and add them to the yams. Peel 2 cloves of garlic and add them whole to the other veg. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the roasting tray and season liberally with salt and pepper. Cover with tinfoil and bake for 40 mins until all of the veg are soft.
Remove from the oven and place into a food processor or blender. Blend until completely smooth. I do this part in advance to make cooking the dish at home much quicker. I then heat it in a pan or microwave to serve once everything else is ready. In the culinary world, we call this prep or mise-en-place.
Chickpeas
For the chickpeas, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the chickpeas in 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp smoked paprika and a liberal sprinkling of salt and pepper. Put them in the oven at the same time as the yams - they will cook for around the same time. Shake the tray every 10-15 mins to ensure even cooking. They should be crispy and crunchy when they come out. Again, I like to do this in advance to make the dish easier to cook and plate later on.
Corn
Peel off the thick outer leaves of the corn until you get to the softer leaves underneath. Pull each leaf back to the top of the corn being careful not to pull them off. Once all of the leaves have been pulled back choose two long ones to tie the rest together in a topknot-esque corn bun.
Set your grill to medium heat and brush the corn with soft butter. Grill the corn for 12-15 mins turning occasionally until the corn has blackened and is cooked through.
Smokin’ Banger
Heat a skillet on medium heat. Dice the poblano peppers to ½ centimeter cubes.
Slice the Smokin’ Banger on an angle. Add two tablespoons of light olive oil to the skillet and fry for 2-3 minutes until the Banger start to take on some colour. Add your poblano peppers and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Transfer these into a little bowl, turn off the heat and add two more tbsp of oil to the pan with a pinch of smoked paprika. This oil will be used for finishing the dish.
To plate the dish, heat the yam puree in a microwave or pan on low heat. Transfer the corn from the griddle to a chopping board and brush with vegan butter. Sprinkle Cajun seasoning liberally on each piece of corn. Cut the corn into 4 equal length pieces.
Spoon the yam puree onto the plate to make a bed for the corn. This helps to stop anything from moving around. Place the corn with the topknot in the center of the plate and arrange the 3 remaining pieces around the outside. Next, spoon the Smokin’ Banger and poblano mix into the gaps between the corn. Sprinkle the crispy chickpeas and garnish with cilantro. Finally, drizzle a little of the oil around the dish to finish.
Enjoy!
Be sure to share your Grilled Corn & Smokin’ Bangers with us using #TheVeryGoodButchers and tagging @theverygoodbutchers so we can see! We'll share our favourites.