CORN RECIPES For EVERY COURSE
Having just returned from 3 days in Manhattan eating at Michelin starred restaurants and being inspired by the great corn we are eating this summer, I decided to put together a meal entirely based on corn. I had a blast and what transpired was a very unique and surprisingly great meal. I’ll offer general guidelines for some of the recipes and for others I’ll give you more details.
The corn maple syrup panna cotta was the most unusual and a real keeper. The trick for all of these dishes is to find the perfect corn which I am pleased to say can be found in various locations this summer. I like it, crispy, (not mushy), sweet and packed with corny flavor.
So here we go, experiment as I did. Look online for similar recipes and then take off with your ideas. And be prepared to spend time prepping so that last minute you can finish your dishes quickly. It helps to have guests who enjoy lending a hand.
EIGHT COURSE CORNY TASTING MENU
August 24th 2012
Celebrating summer and corn
Creamed corn filo cups with cheese, caramelized onions and shitake mushrooms
Corn vichyssoise with leeks and onions
Arugula and grilled corn salad with pistachios, and heirloom tomatoes
Tortilla corn and black bean stack with pulled pork
Corn and crab cakes with lemon caper butter sauce (hold the mayo)
Grilled Kielbasa with corn relish
Savory corn pudding
Corn and maple syrup panna cotta with peaches and strawberries
Creamed Corn Fillo Cups
with Shitake Mushrooms and goat Cheese
5 oz. package sliced shitake mushrooms
1 small sweet onion, small diced
Olive oil for frying
2 tbs. butter for frying
2 ears of corn cut off the cob
½ cup heavy cream
4 oz. cream cheese
2 oz. goat cheese
1/3 cup shredded swiss cheese
salt and pepper
2 packages mini fillo shells (I like Athens brand that come 15 to a package and is in the freezer section near the pie doughs)
1. Fry onions in a little olive oil and 1 Tbs. butter until slightly brown and set aside.
2. Fry mushrooms in a little olive oil with remaining butter and set aside.
3. Fry the corn kernels briefly in same frying pan over high heat so that it begins to release a great corn fragrance, stirring frequently.
4. After you begin to smell the corn (about3-5 minutes) add the cream and simmer corn and cream together for another 5-6 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in a food process, process cream cheese and goat cheese until well missed.
6. Mix everything together and season for salt and pepper. I like alot of pepper in this dish.
7. You can prepare this ahead of time and refrigerate for a couple of days. Right before you serve it, heat it up in the microwave and then fill about 1 Tbs in each cup and sprinkle with the grated swiss cheese. Bake at 350 ? for about 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and beginning to brown.
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CHILLED CORN VICHYSSOISE
3 Tbs. olive oil)
3 medium leeks, trimmed, sliced and washed
2 medium sweet onions, thinly sliced
4-6 ears corn, kernels cut from the cob. Put corn from one ear aside.
32 ounces or 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
½ cup ½ and ½ (optional)
Salt to taste
Snipped chives for garnish
1. Using heavy casserole, fry the onions in butter until soft and lightly browned.
2. Adds sliced leeks and cook slowly with onions for another 10 minutes, stirring
occasionally.
3. Add chicken or vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently, covered for
20 minutes or until leeks are soft.
4. Add corn and cook for another 5 minutes.
5. When slightly cooled, pureed the mixture in a blender or food process until very
smooth. Add ½ and ½ if desired at this point and mix together.
6. Fry the last ear of corn kernels over high heat with a little oil and some salt until beginning to brown. Set aside to use for garnish. (This step is optional)
7. Refrigerate 24-48 hours.
7. Garnish each bowl with chopped chives and corn kernels.
Arugula and grilled corn salad with pistachios, cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes and a preserved lemon dressing
The fusion of lemon, pistacchio and corn creates flavor that is quite extraordinary.
Salad
Baby arugula or mixed baby greens
2 ears of corn, grilled until beginning to brown and then kernels removed when cool
¼ cup pistachio nuts
1 cucumber
cherry tomatoes
Dressing
1 preserved lemon without the peel, chopped finely
1 Tbs. chopped chives
Juice of one meyer lemon
pinch of sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1. For dressing mix everything together, preferably in a small food processor or chopped and add olive oil gradually. Add salt and pepper to taste
2. Toss with greens
3. Arrange the lettuce, corn, pistachios, tomatoes and cucumbers attractively on each plate.
Tortilla corn and black bean stack with pulled pork
Pulled Pork
Corn tortillas
Black beans
2 ears of corn
½ cup heavy cream
This is an experiment based on a wonderful dish we had at Café Bolud in NYC during their restaurant week. This was served with a Southwestern style lamb dish and they were tiny 1 inch squares of layered beans and tortillas. I thought it would be even better with a layer of corn as well.
Bean layer: I make my own black beans in a pressure cooker without needing to soak ahead of time. To half a pound of beans that have been cleaned, I add ½ cup of soy sauce, ¼ cup orange juice, and a cup of water. I then add salt, a couple of garlic cloves and a little cumin. I pressure cook for 20 minutes and then reduce pressure and check for doneness. They take between 20-30 minutes. I then leave them to cool in their liquid and when you make the puree add only enough liquid to give it a smooth spreadable consistency. You can also buy canned black beans and puree and season them to your liking or you can do this with refried beans.
Corn layer: Take kernels off the cobs and fry this in a sauce pan until beginning to smell aromatic but not brown. Add heavy cream and cook together for 5-6 minutes until the corn is cooked. Then put in food process or blender and puree until very smooth. If it’s too thick add some more milk or cream to think it out but you want it spreadable and not runny.
To make the stacks: Toast the tortillas in a toaster oven until very lightly toasted but not brown. On a tortilla spread a thin layer of beans, then layer another tortilla and then a layer of corn followed by another layer of tortilla.
Wrap them up and refrigerate them until ready to serve. Right before serving fry them in a hot frying pan until lightly browned on each side.
For main course serve one or two per person and for an appetizer serve a quarter of the stack alongside the pulled pork.
Corn and crab cakes with lemon caper butter sauce
There are some people who are mayo-phobes. They hate anything even remotely associated with jarred mayo including any type of aioli. I am happy to offer this recipe for a mayo-less crabcake and mayo-less sauce.
You can use you own crab cake recipe and add corn or follow these general instructions:
Crab Cake
8 ounces crab meat (good quality, not canned or imitation)
2 green onions (scallions, finely chopped)
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 ears of corn, kernels removed
1 tsp old bay seasoning
cayenne pepper to taste
1 tsp dry mustard
2 egg yolks
bread crumbs
1. Cook the corn in the heavy cream until the corn is cooked through but still crunchy (5-6 minutes) cool
2. Mix egg yolks into corn and cream mixture
3. Mix everything except bread crumbs together gently so as to keep the chunks of crabmeat intact.
4. Gently make small (2 inch) patties and coat them with the bread crumbs. This is difficult since they are very crumbly
5. Refrigerate until they are firm and easy to handle.
6. Fry in vegetable oil until brown on each side.
7. Serve with lemon caper sauce
Lemon Caper Sauce (hold the mayo)
Juice of one lemon
1 Tbs. capers
2 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. white wine or vermouth
1/4 heavy cream
1. Boil lemon juice and vermouth until reduced to 1-2 Tbs.
2. Add cream and reduce until thickened.
3. Wisk in butter a little at a time while stirring.
4. Add capers and season with salt
4. Refrigerate until ready to use.
5. Heat gently in microwave
Grilled Kielbasa with corn relish
Kielbasa ( I like the small individual smoked Polish Kielbasa from Hilshire Farms)
Corn Relish Recipe
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INGREDIENTS
· 1 large cucumbers, peeled, finely chopped
· 2 cups of finely chopped onions
1 cup chopped green cabbage
· 2 stalks celery finely chopped (Size of corn kernels)
· ½ cup chopped pimento
· 4 cups corn kernels (cut from 4-6 ears, depending on how big the ears are)
· 1/2 cup sugar
· 1 ½ Tbsp Kosher salt
· 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
· 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar (5% acidity)
· 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
· 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
· 1 teaspoon celery salt
· cayenne pepper to taste
METHOD
1 Place everything except corn, celery and cucumber and pimento in a medium-sized (4 to 6-quart), thick-bottomed pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
2 Add celery and cook for another 5 minutes. Add corn and cook for another 5 minutes. Then mix in pimento. Taste for seasoning.
3 Spoon the corn relish into clean jars and seal. Will last for 4-6 weeks refrigerated.
4 This is better made a few days before you serve it.
Yield: Makes 3-4 pints.
Savory corn pudding
FOOD AND WINE magazine has a wonderful corn pudding recipe . I cut down on the butter; actually I just left it out. And instead of 6 eggs, I used 4 because I wanted more corn flavor. The corn is so sweet and tasty now…it’s the perfect time to try this recipe. The cornmeal settles on the bottom so that it serves as a crust. I loaded up with sweet Mayan onions. If you want a more elegant presentation try using muffin tins or individual pots as pictured above. Another idea is to use a small cup as a cookie cutter and carved out single portions. The picture below shows this single portion presentation using chervil as a garnish.
Corn and maple syrup panna cotta with seasonal fruit
This is an incredibly easy dessert to make and quite elegant. It isn’t quite as smooth as regular panna cotta but my guests liked the texture. If you want it really smooth you’ll need to put it through a sieve.
5 ears of corn taken: kernels taken off the cobs
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 envelope gelatin
2 Tbs maple syrup
Mint leaves for garnish (optional)
1. Put the gelatin in a bowl with 2 Tbs water to soften gelatin
2. Heat the corn kernels up in a heavy skillet for a few minutes so that they become fragrant. Add the heavy cream and simmer until the corn is cooked: 5-6 minutes.
3. Add the gelatin and stir together until the gelatin is dissolved
4. Put gelatin and corn mixture and maple syrup into blender and blend until very smooth. You will need a good blender for this. I have a Vita Mix which does a good job. A food processor will not make it smooth enough. If you want it smoother you will have to put it through a fine sieve after you add the milk. Add milk and pour into individual dishes. A good amount is about ½ cup per person which will give you 6-7 servings.
5. Chill in fridge until set. You can make this the day before.
6. Garnish with mint and serve with fruit cut into little pieces: blueberries, nectarines, peaches, kiwis or strawberries.