How do I fire-roast food (like corn)?

How do I fire-roast food (like corn)?

Fire-roasting simply means cooking over an open flame. If you ask me, it’s just a fancier way of saying “grilling,” but you can fire-roast food in your broiler, on your stovetop burner, or on a gas or charcoal grill. The basic idea of fire-roasting is exposing a vegetable (usually corn, tomato, red bell pepper, fresh chiles, or onion) to fire so that the flame blisters and slightly blackens the skin of the food. This intensifies the flavor of the veggie and gives it a hint of smokiness that goes well in Mexican, Tex-Mex, and Southwestern dishes, like this Roasted Corn, Black Bean, and Mango Salad. (Instead of oven-roasting the corn, as the recipe calls for, follow the directions below for the stovetop or grill.)

The best part about fire-roasting is how little prep it takes to get this punchy flavor. Just wash and/or peel away any inedible skin (like onion skin). Don’t season, oil, or marinate it, and leave it whole -- the cutting and dicing comes after you’ve cooked it.

To fire-roast on your stovetop burner (probably the easiest method), hold the food in a set of tongs about two inches above a medium-high flame until it’s browned. Rotate the vegetable so that all sides are roasted evenly. The exterior should be browned, and some spots may blacken and bubble. It takes anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes to roast a whole vegetable.

In a fully preheated broiler, align the vegetable so that it lies directly under the flames. Check it every 2 or 3 minutes. Turn when the outside begins to brown and rotate periodically until it’s browned on all sides.

On a hot grill (gas or charcoal), lay the vegetable on the grate and roast all sides until browned. After fire-roasting a bell pepper, toss it in a plastic zip-top bag, seal, and let it rest for 5 minutes. This steams and loosens the skin of the pepper so that it’s easy to peel.

My first -- and still favorite -- fire-roasted snack is tomatillo guacamole. Tomatillos are the round, green fruits that look like tomatoes and have a papery husk on the outside. Remove the husk and rinse, then fire-roast several tomatillos on top of tin foil or in a shallow baking pan in a preheated broiler, turning every minute or two until they're fully charred. Smash the tomatillos into fresh-made (avocado, salt, pepper, cilantro, and lime) or store-bought guacamole. You’ll want to smear this stuff on everything, and it’s also a sublime addition to Fish Tacos.

-- Colleen Rush

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