Creamed sweetcorn with tomatoes
Mon, 14 August, 2017

No end of trouble with old corn! First of all – it’s not a vegetable. It’s a grain, so more related to grass than to carrots. It won’t count as one of your five-a-day because it’s largely starch, and full of sugars as well (boo! hiss!). On the other hand it’s a gluten free cereal which for some may be a redeeming feature. But it’s relatively low in protein and fibre in spite of being the most-produced grain worldwide.
The next problem comes with naming it: corn, maize, corn on the cob, sweet corn; and then its derivatives: is cornmeal the same as polenta? is corn flour just fine cornmeal? and what about corn syrup and golden syrup – the same thing (horrid stuff btw, sweeter than sugar – but handy when making frozen yoghurt)? An ear or a cob of corn? And do you peel or shuck the husk/leaves/silk?
Finally – how to cook it? Not edible raw (not a veg, figures), some swear by simply boiling it, recalling fond memories of Italian holidays and street vendors’ steaming vats. Just don’t add salt – it makes boiled corn tough as hell. Others whack it on a BBQ no matter what – unpeeled/shucked or naked, slathered in oil. Microwaving corn is a lesser sin; it takes only three minutes and makes for a succulent cob. I like to roast it myself: dotted with butter and wrapped in aluminium foil; half an hour in a hot oven and then a blast of grill in the open foil package.
Creamed corn was a dish I’d vaguely heard of, imagining very very wrongly mashed baby food lookalike. Creamed corn in fact is now my number one method of cooking corn and that’s how I’ll continue until the end of the summer and beyond – it’s gorgeous. Takes minutes to cook, isn’t too rich; you just have to watch it like a hawk, spoon at the ready, because it does like to catch and burn.
And the combination of fresh ripe tomatoes and cooked cheese-oozy kernels is simply ace. The pairing credited to Melissa Clark of NY Times.
creamed sweetcorn with tomatoes
Servings: 2Time: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
- 2 corn on the cob, peeled (or 200g frozen corn kernels)
- 100ml (1/3 cup) double cream
- 3 tbsp. crumbled blue cheese (Stilton, Gorgonzola or similar)
- salt and black pepper
- 40g (¼ cup) pine nuts
- several medium sized ripe tomatoes
- fresh basil leaves
METHOD
1. Cut the kernels off the cobs: place trimmed cob on a chopping board vertically and run a large sharp knife along the cob on all sides.
2. Place the kernels with the cream in a saucepan, cover with a lid and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes, taking care not to let it catch at the bottom.
3. Crumble in the cheese and cook uncovered for another 5 minutes until the sauce thickens. Season generously with black pepper and moderately (check for taste) with salt.
4. Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan for 5 minutes until golden and fragrant. Halve or slice the tomatoes and arrange them on plates.
5. Pile the corn over the tomatoes, sprinkle with pine nuts and top with basil leaves.
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