three corn and tomato and (optional) basil recipes
just because it's one of my favorite combos
it’s peak tomato season and corn season here in the northeast, so i’m switching some things around! these recipes are coming out in lieu of my normal chef’s kisses newsletter (aka my end of month newsletter) so you have plenty of time to make these dishes before the produce begins to transition. at the end of this month, you’ll receive what i had originally planned for mid-august, a post on vegetable dishes i’ve been developing for my wedding celebration next month. eeek!
and one other thing – i did a little interview with the relisher on some of my favorite places to dine in paris. you can check it out here.
corn, tomatoes, and a little bit of basil together make up one of my favorite combos. so here i’m sharing three corn and tomato recipes with you, one is a salad, one is a chilled soup, and one is a pasta dish. i think all of these dishes are delicious, but, to be fair, tomatoes and corn are my favorite: i eat tomatoes out of my hand like apples, and corn topped plainly with butter and salt has been my go-to snack this month (ps. my favorite way of cooking corn is in the microwave, i cook it for 2 minutes, husk and all, and then flip it over and cook it for another 60-90 seconds, then i let it cool briefly and shuck – the silks come off super easily this way and the corn is so perfectly cooked and flavorful and easy). all this to say, i am biased here. but maybe you’ll enjoy these recipes just as much as i do. if you’re not as big of a fan as me, start with the pasta dish, which is my favorite.
corn, nduja, basil, and (sungold) tomato pasta
in this dish, the sweet corn gets nice and toasty while cooking in spicy, fatty nduja as the pasta boils. the dish is finished with tangy, sweet sungolds and fresh basil. the whole thing is just so delicious. i love the dish so much, i have made it three times this summer, and hope to make it at least once more.
ps. this is my favorite dish in the bunch
ingredients:
1 lb pasta (whatever kind you would like)
60g ‘nduja
salt and pepper to taste
2 ears yellow or bi-color corn
dash of white wine optional
3 cups of sungolds or other cherry tomato variety, but sungolds really are fantastic here
1 large clove of garlic
15g of basil leaves washed and dried
1 tablespoon of butter or bacon fat if you have it
30-50g parmigiano reggiano grated + more for serving
set a pot of salted water to boil, and immediately start on your sauce. place the ‘nduja in a large pan set over low heat. break it up with the back of a spoon and spread it across the surface of the pan, you want it to cook very slowly and very evenly. while the ‘nduja cooks down, microwave each ear of corn for 2 minutes (if you don’t have a microwave, skip this step). shuck your corn and cut the kernels off the cob.
at around this point your water will be boiling, add in your pasta and set a timer to cook until al dente.
once the nduja has taken on some color and the fat has separated from the meat (about 5 minutes of cooking), add your corn kernels and turn up the heat to medium. toss the whole thing together and let the corn and ‘nduja cook for about 5 minutes if your corn was partially cooked in the microwave, or 8 minutes if it was raw when you put it in the pan. when things start to look too dry, add in a dash of wine or some of the pasta water. once the corn is tender and yummy, turn off the heat and let the pan sit until your pasta is done cooking.
while the ‘nduja and corn cook together and you wait for the pasta to finish cooking, halve your sungolds (unless they are teeny tiny, then keep them whole). dice or grate your garlic clove and add it to your tomatoes, and chiffonade your basil and add to the pile with the tomatoes and garlic.
once the pasta is al dente, add the pasta to the pan with your corn and ‘nduja and ~3/4 cup of pasta water. turn the heat back on and stir it all together. let it boil into a beautiful, glossy sauce. turn off the heat(!) and add in your butter (or bacon fat) and some parm, and give it a good mix until glossy and thickened. add your sungolds with the grated garlic and basil, and stir to combine everything. plate it up and top it with even more parm. enjoy!
chilled corn (and basil) soup with tomatoes
this soup is light, creamy, refreshing, and surprisingly flavorful considering how few ingredients there are. this is all thanks to the corn, shallot, and garlic which gets nice and toasty in some butter towards the beginning of this recipe. for this recipe you make a corn soup (the yellow one), and then you can take the addition step of blending about half of this soup with basil and parsley to make a basil-corn soup, then plate the whole thing together, or you could skip the basil part and just serve up a corn soup - pick your own adventure.
corn soup:
2 ears of yellow corn
2 cups of water
1 bay leaf
a few sprigs of thyme if you are not doing the basil version
50g butter
1 medium shallot or yellow onion weighing ~60g
2 medium cloves (or ~9g) of garlic
3g salt
1 egg
basil corn soup:
20g basil leaves + tender stems washed
3g parsley leaves + tender stems washed
top of 1 scallion or a few chives
to finish:
heirloom or tiny tomatoes
corn soup!
if you have a microwave, microwave each ear of corn for 3 minutes. if you don’t have a microwave, skip this step.
shuck your corn and cut the kernels off of the cob. break each cob into 4 pieces and place it in a small pot with 2 cups of water. add in your bay leaf (and thyme if you’re not also making the basil soup). partially cover with a lid and place over medium heat. let it boil for 30 minutes to make corn stock.
while that boils, roughly dice up your shallot and garlic. place your butter and corn kernels in a medium pan over medium heat. add your chopped shallot. garlic, and salt. cook for about 10 minutes, shaking the pan every once in a while. the onion and garlic should be tender with a few toasty brown spots – if they’re not, cook for a little longer. pour the contents of the pan into your blender bowl and crack in your egg.
blend on high speed until everything is nice and smooth.
once your corn stock has been boiling for 30 minutes, strain it into a liquid measuring cup. you should have about ½ cup, so if you have more, pour it back into the pot to continue reducing until you only have ½ cup or less.
if you are also making the basil soup, toss your parsley leaves and tender stems into the measuring cup of hot stock and, once they turn bright green (in just a few seconds), fish them out and set them aside (we will use them again shortly).
pour about ¼ cup of stock into the blender with your corn puree and blend again until emulsified. give the soup a taste, see if you want to adjust the seasonings, or add the rest of your corn stock (if you’re not planning on eating the soup right away, you may want to add the corn stock when you are ready to serve, as the soup will thicken in the fridge a bit, so the texture you see now is not the texture you will be getting once chilled).
strain your soup through a sieve and into a measuring cup or bowl (if you are making the basil soup, only strain a little more than half of the soup, about 1 ¼ cups). place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes (you can also save it for later, i’m sorry i don’t know how long it will keep as it hasn’t lasted in the apartment for more than a day).
basil corn soup!
add the blanched parsley, the basil, and the scallion top or chives to the blender with the remaining soup. blend again until most of the greens are broken up. strain the basil corn soup into a separate bowl/measuring cup. place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes (or see the note above about saving it for later).
to serve!
cut your tiny tomatoes in half or cut your heirlooms into bite-sized pieces (the smaller they are the less likely they are to sink into the soup), and sprinkle on some salt.
plate up your soup in a bowl. i like to pour the corn soup, followed by the corn basil soup poured off to the side for a two-tone effect. then place your tomatoes on top.
tomato corn (and basil) caesar-inspired salad
i’m going to be honest with you, out of all three recipes this is certainly my least favorite. but, it is also the most beautiful, and thus i make it every year, put it on instagram, and get many requests for the recipe. so, here it is, finally!
the dressing is made with pretty standard caesar ingredients, but in lieu of worcestershire sauce (and some of the anchovy), i add corn.
after making the dressing you could re-blend a portion of it with some basil to get the dual color effect. it’s up to you, but i think it makes for a pretty salad. you can also skip the basil addition and use this as a more traditional salad dressing - this week i served it up with grilled corn, romaine, avocado, and tomatoes and quite enjoyed it.
corn dressing:
2 ears of corn (white corn will be subtle here, and yellow corn will make it a bit sweet – pick your own adventure)
1 anchovy
1 large clove (~8g) of garlic
1 egg
30g parm
30g lemon juice
5g mustard
80-100g olive oil
3g salt
additions for basil corn dressing:
20g basil leaves + tender stems washed
3g parsley leaves + tender stems washed
to finish:
variety of heirloom tomatoes
and a little bit of balsamic vinegar this helps cut the sweetness of the whole salad
corn dressing!
cook and shuck your corn – i like to do this in the microwave. i put one ear in, husk and all, cook for 2 minutes, flip over, and cook for another 60-90 seconds (it depends on how big the ear of corn is). then i repeat with the other ear. if you don’t have a microwave, use whichever method for cooking corn that you like best.
add all the ingredients, in the corn dressing section, to your blender and blend on high speed until it is creamy. give it a taste and see if you want to change up the ratios.
i like to strain it at this point before plating, but this is totally up to you.
if you want to make the basil version!
pour a little over half of the dressing into a bowl/deli container/measuring cup and set aside.
boil a small amount of water (either in a small pot on the stove or use your kettle and then pour it into a small bowl). add your parsley and toss until it turns bright green (just a few seconds). remove your parsley from the water and add it to the blender with your remaining dressing. add in your basil and blend again.
i like to strain it at this point before plating, but this is totally up to you.
tomatoes!
slice your tomatoes. for a variety in plating, i like to cut the tomatoes from different directions: some sliced across the equator, others sliced from the top, and others cut into segments. then sprinkle the cut tomatoes with salt and drizzle balsamic on top.
plating!
p.s. for the proper ratio of dressing to tomatoes, i would recommend only dressing half the plate and putting the sliced tomatoes on the other half.
pour or dollop your dressing(s) with a spoon onto the plate/platter. if you made the basil version in addition to the regular version, alternate between the green and the yellow when spooning onto the platter. gently shake the plate to spread the dressing up to the edges, and then swirl the dressings using the handle side of a spoon. i stick to just a few swirls so it doesn’t look muddled.
then add your prepped tomatoes and serve.