One Great Dish: Corn Risotto At Browntrout

By Melissa Wiley in Food on Oct 25, 2012 3:20PM

As soon as you breach urban Chicago, farmers are busy at work harvesting corn by the endless, dusty acre. While we’re standing in line for our fourth pumpkin spice latte, thousands of combines are mechanically shucking hundreds of thousands of ears of corn by the hour. And unless you happen inside Lincoln Square’s Browntrout and order some locally sourced corn risotto, you’re probably not benefiting from this massive harvest encircling the city like an edible corona.

Made with corn puree, house-cured coppa, local celery, cherry tomatoes, mascarpone, and delectable rooftop herbs ($10), this small plate bespeaks the bounty of America’s bread basket. With one bite, you can taste the fruits of our neighbors’ agrarian labor and Chef Sean Sanders’ culinary expertise in simple, symphonic cohesion. So by all means order some trout or fish or other more attention-grabbing main dish, but don’t forget the corn risotto. It’s something that gourmands in an urban center without a boundless expanse of outlying cornfields can only dream about.

Browntrout is located at 4111 N. Lincoln Ave.