July and Corn for the West Coast

It’s July already!  For us that means wonderful corn, on the cob, corn in salads, corn side dishes and anything else you can think of.  It is here for such a short time that we tend to over eat corn.

Growing up corn didn’t arrive until September and there too for the short time it was available we ate it every chance we got.  My favorite dishes are what I’m blogging about today.  I start almost always with roasted corn.  My Dad used to soak the corn, silk, leave and all for an hour or better, always corn picked that day (why you ask?  Because it starts to turn to starch immediately).  Because we roast it we always cook more than what is needed; the rest gets stripped and frozen in batches of 2 ears per bag and then it hits the food saver (this is a strange process and needs more explanation if anyone is interested, but it works).  This way when I need corn in the off season I can just open the freezer.

Most obviously corn on the cob is my favorite; I can make a meal of these golden beauties with butter.  Next favorite is a corn and poblano pepper dish. This creamy spicy dish quickly became a family favorite and each time we make it we change it just a bit.  And of course we ALWAYS add corn to our chowders, posole, soups, and salads.

I saw this on a show and decided I had to try it.  With the veggies out of our garden the heat was amazingly high and not unusually for local fresh peppers.  So take this as a word of caution, cut back on the peppers if you can’t stand the heat in the food.

6 fresh poblano chiles (cut to 3 to lessen the heat)

3 tablespoons jalapeno or garlic olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, thinly diced/sliced

2 ears corn, kernels removed

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup Mexican crema, creme fraiche, or Greek yogurt

1/2 cup, shredded Monterrey jack cheese

Pinch of sea salt and fresh ground telecherry pepper

Peel back a few of the layers of leaves from the corn and soak in water for at least an hour.  Grill the peppers to char the skin and place in a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap that fits the bowl tight.* Remove the extra silk from the outside and roast the corn at the same time.  When the corn is finished let cool.  These steps can be done the day before and let to cool so as not to burn your hands when handling please wear gloves when handling peppers, anytime.

Seed and slice the peppers into thin strips and dice into pieces that are no larger than bit sized, smaller to melt with the rest of the dish.

In a sauté pan add the oil and onions add the corn and cook for only a few and set aside, add the peppers to the mixture and cook for about 5 minutes over medium to low heat, add the creams and cook until bubbles appear.  Then add the cheese stirring constantly until smooth salt, pepper, or Hometown to taste.  Serve warm.

*Chef’s Note:  I have tried several different ways to skin peppers and for me this one has proven to be the best.  Couple of tricks include making sure the skin is charred if not it won’t come off, cover in glass and cover tight with a good clinging plastic wrap and let cool to handle and wear gloves handling spicy peppers.

Enjoy!!!