I can never eat enough summer corn, said Melissa Clark in The New York Times. “Why resist when the season’s nearly over?” The challenge for me is to avoid eating basically the same thing every day. Here are two “very different dishes” to make the end of the season a little more bearable.
Recipes of the week
Corn, Tomato, and Basil Chowder
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6 ears corn, shucked
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1½ tsp kosher salt
1 lb waxy potatoes (red or Yukon Gold are good), cut into ½-inch cubes
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
Juice of ½ lime
Crème fraîche or sour cream, for serving (optional)
Slice corn kernels off cob, place in bowl. Run back of knife along each cob to remove additional corn pulp. Add pulp to bowl; reserve cobs. In medium soup pot, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in onion, shallot, garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add broth, reserved cobs, 1 cup water, 1 tsp salt to pot. Bring to boil over high heat. Immediately reduce heat to medium; simmer 10 minutes. Add potatoes; simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes longer. Remove cobs and discard. Stir in corn kernels and pulp, tomatoes, remaining ½ tsp salt, and pepper. Simmer 20 minutes more. Stir in basil and lime juice. Turn off heat and let soup cool at least 15 minutes. Serve warm with dollop of crème fraîche or sour cream, if using. Serves 4 to 6.
Brown Butter Corn Bread With Farmer Cheese and Thyme
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp kosher salt
1¼ cups sour cream or buttermilk
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 egg
3 tbsp sugar
¼ tsp baking soda
1 cob cooked corn (about ¾ cup), kernels removed
4 ounces (¾ cup) farmer cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
¼ cup unsalted butter (½ stick)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl, sift together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In separate bowl, whisk together sour cream, oil, egg, sugar, and baking soda. Gently fold wet ingredients into dry ones. Fold in corn, cheese, and thyme.
Melt butter in a 9-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, tilting pan to coat bottom and sides completely. Cook butter 2 to 3 minutes, until it starts to color and smell nutty. Scrape batter into skillet; smooth surface with a rubber spatula.
Bake until bread is golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve. Serves 6.
