Stove-top Popcorn with Olive Oil and Cracked Pepper

Fresh stove-top popcorn is the only kind you'll get in our apartment

Despite the rapid popularity of microwave popcorn during my lifetime, stove-top popcorn wiggled its way into a single memory from my 1980′s childhood.  My great-grandmother stood next to our stove, melting butter in a big pot and I stood next to her on tip-toe, trying to catch glimpses of the golden pool. She opened a big plastic bag of popcorn kernels, pushed me away from the stove and poured in half the bag. I still remember the high-pitched “whoosh” of all those little kernels hitting the metal. Then came the first “pop.” Then the next. Then it seemed as if the popcorn would pop right off the stove.

The memory ends there, although I’m sure I enjoyed this buttery snack while watching Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty, happily nestled between the sofa and the coffee table, cross-legged on the floor.

Store unpopped popcorn in a bug-proof container

Shortly thereafter microwave popcorn appeared on the scene, and stove-top popcorn — along with Irish beef stew and creamed tuna on toast — was catapulted into the magical realm of “things Dema used to make” which is something like a museum for food memories from my early life.

Start with two or three test kernels in the pot. When one pops, its time to add the rest.

Raphe and I rediscovered stove-top popcorn together in the early months of our relationship.   I was in school, completely broke-ass and living with two other broke-ass student types in a tiny two bedroom plus large closet that lacked, among other things, a microwave.  Raphe suggested a movie-night on chilly winter evening and my mind went back to that  memory of Dema standing in front of the stove with a bag of unpopped popcorn.   So, Raphe and I ventured into the well-stocked dry good section of the local grocery store, picked up a bag of Goya popcorn and have never gone back.

We like to use a pot with a clear lid so we know if we need to remove some of the popped corn, Also, it's fun to watch.

Stove-top popcorn is now our go-to snack for lazy Saturdays and has made appearances at the dinner table on even lazier weeknights.  We leave large bowls of it out at parties, where it disappears long before the hummus or cheese platter. The popcorn is crisper than the microwave version, avoids imitation butter and takes only a few minutes to make.  Instead of melted butter, we drizzle our popcorn with rosemary olive oil and season it with sea salt and cracked pepper.  Sometimes we add a touch of hot pepper oil  or Old Bay seasoning to mix it up.  For your first batch, we recommend keeping it simple so you can appreciate just how good stove-top popcorn is.

Recipe Notes

1. 1/4 cup of unpopped popcorn feeds the two of us for a snack.  1/2 cup feeds us for dinner around four.
2. We use a 4 quart pot for a 1/4 cup and an 8 quart stock pot for a 1/2 cup.  If you need to use a smaller pot, you can transfer popped popcorn midway – just watch out for flying popcorn!

*****

Stove-top Popcorn with Olive Oil and Cracked Pepper
Serves 4
Prep time: none
Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients	Local sources
1/2 cup popcorn kernels	Eastern Fruit and Vegetable
Olive oil	ShopRite Brooklyn
Sea salt to taste	Trader Joe’s Brooklyn
Cracked pepper to taste	Zaitoon

1. Heat a heavy-bottom pot over medium heat.  Add olive oil and two or three kernels of popcorn.  Cover pot, leaving the lid slightly ajar.
2. Listen for the first “pop.”
3. After one of two kernels have popped, add the rest of the popcorn.  Replace lid.
4. Gently shake the pop forward and backward on or just above the burner.  Continue until the pops occur two or three seconds apart.
5. Remove pot from heat and transfer the popcorn to a serving bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Season with sea salt and cracked pepper to taste.

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