Witchy Kitchen

Tag: corn

  • Cazuela Blanca

    Cazuela Blanca

    The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende is a poignant and whimsical story of a family, told in beautiful rolling prose. The story unfolds across generations and across Chile, from Santiago to the countryside at the family’s estate, the Trés Marias, where they spend their summers and the daughter, Blanca, feels most at home.

    Their traditional first night dinner is cazuela de ave, consequently the national dish of Chile. It’s a soupy stew, very unfussy with the chicken still on the bone and the corn still on the cob. It’s lightly seasoned and intensely homey and comforting. This version is vegetarian, using cannellini beans in place of chicken. With the white beans, white sweet corn, and potatoes, it’s light and bright, and named for the character that loves it most. Cazuela feels as warm and familiar as curling up with the book.

    Cazuela Blanca

    • olive oil
    • 1 white onion, sliced (halve first, then cut the halves into thirds so the slices aren’t crazy long)
    • salt and white pepper (black pepper is fine)
    • 3 cloves garlic, grated
    • 8 cups vegetable broth (optional, I create more umami by simmering a piece of kombu with the broth and removing at the end)
    • 2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed
    • 4 ears white corn, peeled, cleaned, and cut into thirds
    • 1 pound potatoes, peeled and cubed
    • 1 pound butternut squash, peeled and cubed
    • garnish: hot sauce, cilantro, parsley

    Heat a couple tablespoons olive oil, and cook onion with a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper until translucent and just starting to color. Add garlic and cook for a minute or so, then add vegetable broth, stirring to make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom. Add beans and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add corn, potatoes and butternut squash and check seasoning, adding more salt if necessary. Simmer until potatoes and butternut squash are very soft but not falling apart.

    Serve hot over rice or with crusty bread, sprinkled with herbs and with a dash of hot sauce.

    Recipe for Fiction Kitchen Episode 59: THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS & MARY AND THE WITCH’S FLOWER in which Carrie and Diana discuss pastries, country food, bland translations, pretty edible flowers, and elaborate picnics!

  • Spicy Grilled Corn

    Spicy Grilled Corn

    One of my favorite things about our trips to Pakistan is that en route to anywhere, there are venders along the road where we would always stop to explore; to buy fruit, to shop for pottery, to drink tea, to eat corn!

    The corn sellers will let you choose your own ear, then they cook it by tossing it a pit of salt roasting over coals – the salt is blackened from roasting. Once it’s cooked, they wrap it in newspaper, and you can enjoy right it on the side of the road.

    We recreate this almost every time we grill, because it is dead simple and delicious. It’s just corn, plain, unadulterated, on the grill, with a lime and chili masala to flavor it afterwards. I cut mine off the cob (#bracelife), and the kids devour it plain.

    Desi Bhutta (Spicy Grilled Corn)

    This is barely a recipe so much as a technique. Take however many ears of corn, husk them and clean them, then grill until charred all over. If you aren’t grilling, you can also do this on a cookie sheet under the broiler, turning occasionally so they get a char.

    Once cooked, mix salt and red chili. Cut a lime in half, dip it in the salt and chili, and rub all over the corn. Enjoy!

  • Maple Aleppo Corn on the Cob

    Maple Aleppo Corn on the Cob

    maple-aleppo-corn-on-the-cob

    We grill corn a lot in the summer, usually Pakistani style (plain, charred, then rubbed with lime and red chili), but I was looking for another way to fix the last corn of the season. I had seen a bunch of recipes for maple chipotle corn on the cob – which sounds awesome, I love chipotles in adobo – but I’ve had these aleppo pepper flakes sitting around and I’ve been looking for new ways to use them. This turned out fantastic, spicy salty sweet, even though I had to cut mine off the cob. Brace life.

    Maple Aleppo Corn on the Cob

    Adapted from Epicurious

    • 1/2 cup maple syrup
    • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
    • 2 garlic cloves, grated
    • 1 tbsp aleppo pepper flakes
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 6 ears corn, husked

    In a small saucepan, simmer (low) maple syrup, butter, garlic and aleppo pepper until it makes a thick glaze (be careful not to burn, mine got a little too done).

    Ideally you can grill these, but I roasted these in a 500° oven – lay on a wax-paper lined baking sheet and brush with glaze. Roast for 10 minutes, turn, brush again with glaze and roast 10 minutes more and brush with remaining glaze.

  • Sweet Corn and Blackberry Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

    Sweet Corn and Blackberry Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

    This hardly needs a recipe, other than the directive: throw yummy things in a bowl. This does check all the summer salad boxes though: something fruity, something crunchy, homemade dressing (the only kind), ubiquitous pickled shallot.

    Sweet Corn and Blackberry Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

    For the dressing

    • 3 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
    • 1 tsp maple syrup
    • 2 tsp finely chopped basil
    • salt and pepper
    • 1 medium shallot
    • 1/4 cup olive oil

    In a small bowl, combine vinegar, maple syrup, basil, salt and pepper. Thinly slice shallot and stir into vinegar mixture and allow to pickle for half an hour minimum, ideally more. Right before serving, add olive oil in a stream while stirring.

    For the salad

    • 2 ears sweet corn
    • Several handfuls baby greens
    • 1 pint blackberries
    • dressing (above)
    • sliced almonds

    Boil corn in salted water for 2 minutes (turning), drain, cool, and cut off the cob. Toss together with greens and blackberries, and lightly dress with the liquid from the dressing. Spoon shallots on top and sprinkle with almonds.

  • Chilled Blackberry Soup with Sweet Corn, Mozzerella and Ricotta

    Chilled Blackberry Soup with Sweet Corn, Mozzerella and Ricotta

    I wanted some ideas for blackberry soup, so I Googled and found several, but they were all sweet! The one savory one I found was a Russian version (Makvlis Supi) which combines blackberries with herbs and cucumbers for a chilled summer soup. “I am intrigued,” I said to myself, so I used it as inspiration for my soup. I am also intrigued by this burrata thing I keep seeing popping up, which I mean to try soon but in the meantime whipped up a mixture of mozzarella and ricotta which I imagine is similar.

    Chilled Blackberry Soup with Sweet Corn, Mozzerella and Ricotta

    • 1 lb blackberries
    • 1 clove garlic
    • 1/2 large cucumber
    • 1 tbsp thyme
    • 1 packed tbsp basil
    • 2 tsp maple syrup
    • sea salt and black pepper
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • 1/4 cup sweet corn
    • 1/4 cup ricotta
    • 1/4 cup mozzarella

    Combine blackberries, garlic, cucumber, thyme, basil, maple syrup, salt and pepper in blender and blend until smooth. Blend on a lower setting and drizzle olive oil. Chill for at least an hour.

    In food processor, combine corn, ricotta and mozzarella with a pinch of salt and pepper.

    To serve, pour soup in bowls and top with a dollop of the corn/ricotta/mozzarella mixture and a sprinkle of basil.

  • Money Penne

    The pesto has lots of symbolic prosperity ingredients: basil for prosperity, almonds for money, leafy greens for bills and sweet corn for coins. It’s super healthy, and the sweet corn, which is deliciously in season, makes it the perfect easy end-of-summer recipe that’s a little more interesting than your average pesto. You can easily make this vegan by leaving out the parmesan altogether or subbing in some nutritional yeast.

    Money Penne

    1 ear sweet corn
    1/2 lb whole wheat penne pasta
    1 large clove garlic, chopped
    1/4 cup almonds
    zest of 1 lemon
    2 large leaves kale, destemmed and roughly chopped
    packed 1/2 cup basil, roughly chopped
    juice of 1/2 lemon
    2-3 tbsp nutritional yeast
    salt & pepper
    1/4 cup olive oil

    Bring a large pot of well-salted water to boil. Drop in corn and cook (only 2-3 minutes) and remove. In the same pot, cook pasta according to package directions and drain.

    When the corn is cool, chop off the kernals and reserve.

    Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine garlic, almonds and lemon zest. Add kale, basil, lemon juice, parmesan, half of the corn, and salt and pepper to taste. Combine well (you may have to scrape the sides a couple of times), then drizzle in olive oil with the food processor running. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

    Return the drained pasta to the pot and combine with pesto and the rest of the corn. Serve with a little grated parmesan on top.

    Plus the name is cute, yes? 😉