How Giada De Laurentiis Gives Corn On The Cob A Simple Italian Twist

Grilled corn on the cob is inherently American, but there's always room to lean into other cuisines, like with grilled Mexican street corn known as elote. But leave it to celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis to put an Italian twist on the classic side dish. Best of all, it only takes a few household ingredients to give the Italian essence to your next batch of corn on the cob just like she does.

In a recipe developed by De Laurentiis for the Cooking Channel, she adds three classic Italian ingredients to the corn: chopped garlic, grated Parmesan, and fresh Italian parsley leaves. The flavor use of those relatively simple ingredients offers a classic Italian flare to the corn on the cob, which is especially nice if you're over butter, salt, and black pepper. In her recipe, De Laurentiis boils the cobs in salted water, but you can add these ingredients to grilled, baked, or even microwaved versions of the dish.

To make corn on the cob like Giada De Laurentiis, she suggests heating the olive oil in a pan and sauteing the garlic. Then, you'll allow it to cool and combine it with the Parmesan, parsley, and salt. Start with ½ cup of olive oil, two garlic cloves, ½ cup of parmesan, and 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley for every six cobs. Later, you'll brush the mixture on the cobs and sprinkle some cheese on top. You can always add more if your cobs are larger or if you want some of the extra oil mixture to add to the rest of the meal, or to serve alongside the corn on the cob for guests to doctor up their own corn.

There are many other ways to season corn on the cob, some of which still lean into the Italian inspiration. Reach into your spice cabinet and grab crushed red pepper flakes to add some heat or use an Italian seasoning blend if you want to skirt the fresh herbs. You could also replace the olive oil with butter, roast the garlic to enhance its flavor, and use our tips to make garlic butter instead. Or to step it up further, consider crushed pine nuts or basil. And, to find out more about the chef's inspiration, here's our exclusive interview with Giada De Laurentiis on how she elevates Italian food from her kitchen to yours.