I have always wanted to make a Cob Dip but truth be told, they scare me. Once I get my hands on that cheesy goodness and gloriously crusty bread, I fear I won’t be able to stop and as it turns out, I was right. I searched the internet high and low for the right recipe and as I was having a gathering with a few vegetarians, I needed to come up with something that would be packed full of flavour as pretty much every recipe I saw had bacon in it. Mind you, bacon in this Cob Dip would be amazing but I wanted to appeal to the masses.
The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do something that I hadn’t seen done before (in all my Cob Dip research) and cooking fresh corn cobs on the Barbie until charred and smokey, was just the ticket. A good amount of cheddar, a whack of smoked paprika and the sharp tang and heat of pickled Jalapeno peppers gave the oozy filling just what it needed. For a final flavour burst and to freshen the whole Cob Dip up a notch I put a crunchy garnish of spring onion, coriander and green chilli on top with glorious, smokey kernels of corn.
I had every right to be scared, this was so moreish and with a seriously good sourdough, I reckon this is a serious winning Cob Dip contender.
Prep time: 30 Minutes
Cooking time: 40 Minutes
$$ Medium Budget
Serves a Crowd
For the Cob Dip filling:
One large cob loaf (I used a good sourdough)
250 gm of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
150 gm of sour cream
1 cup of good grated cheddar
400gm tin of creamed corn
1/2 a red onion, finely diced
1 spring onions, finely sliced
1 tsp of smoked paprika
2 tbs of pickled jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
2 fresh corn cobs, husks removed
Grated rind and juice of 1 lime
2 tbs of chopped coriander
Sea salt and pepper
For the Topping:
1 Spring onion, cut into 5cm batons and finely julienned
1 cup of fresh coriander leaves
1 long green chilli, sliced diagonally
1/2 cup of charred corn kernels
To prepare the Cob Dip loaf, use a serrated bread knife to remove the top of the cob loaf. This is easily done by placing the cob on a board and holding it down with the palm of your hand. Run the bread knife through the loaf sideways, taking your time to get an even cut through the bread.
Prepare a baking tray with baking paper and remove the centre of the cob in chunks, large enough to hold a good wad of cob dip and place the bread chunks on the baking tray, ready to bake later.
Heat a BBQ or griddle pan and cook the corn cobs over a nice high heat until lightly blackened. Allow the corn to cool slightly before standing the cobs up on a bread board (one at a time) hold the top and run your knife down the side of the cob to remove the kernels, as close to the centre of the corn as possible. Set aside half a cup of the kernels for the garnish.
To make the Cob Dip filling, heat a fry pan and add a touch of oil. Lightly fry the onion and spring onion until just starting to soften, set aside and allow to cool.
For the topping, place the julienned spring onion, coriander leaves and chilli slices in a bowl of iced water to freshen up and become lovely and crispy. Drain before adding to the Cob Dip.
Place the onion mixture, cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar, smoked paprika, jalapeno peppers, creamed corn, charred corn kernels, lime zest and juice and chopped coriander in a large bowl. Season with Salt and pepper and use a spatula to really mix well until all of the ingredients are combined.
Heat the oven to 170°C. Place the base of the cob shell in the oven for about 10 minutes to crisp up. Remove it and spoon the filling in (you may have some left over, bloody delicious on a piece of toast and grilled the next morning), pressing it down, really piling it in. If it is slightly higher than the top of the loaf it will hold while cooking and not ooze down the sides. Place the cob in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until heated through and golden brown on top. At about the 20 minute mark, place the bread chunks and top of the cob in the oven too and cook until golden.
To serve the Cob Dip, place the loaf on a large platter and pile the garnish and reserved corn kernels on top. Place the lid on, off to the side so you don’t squash the garnish and arrange the toasted bread pieces around the base of the loaf. Serve immediately……
Left over Spring Onions? You may like to cook this?
Need quality Bake Ware for your Cob Dip?