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Fresh Sweet Corn Polenta My Way

 

 

Ingredients 

 

• 4 - 6 ears of corn

• 1 1/2 cups water

• 1 1/2 cups warm chicken stock

• 2 - 3 tablespoons butter, diced

• ½ cup parmesan cheese grated

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 pinch white pepper

 

Directions

 

You can use the waterless technique of cooking if you have the pan.

 

1. First, remove the leaves and "silk" from each ear of corn, then chop off the pointed top and stalk.. If cooking with waterless cookware, rince the green corn husks under cold water, place them in the bottom of the pan. Wash the ears of corn under cold running water, place them on top of the husks and cover.  

2. Start on medium heat, when the lid spins freely (after a couple minutes), reduce to low and cook for 10 minutes.

3. Using a sharp knife, shave off the kernels -- either stand each ear upright on its base and shave downward, or lay each ear on its side on a cutting board to slice off the kernels.                            

4.  You want to have about 1 1/2 pounds kernels. Put the kernels into a food processor.

5. Process them for quite a few minutes, to break as much of the kernel case as possible. Add some of the chicken stock if the mixture becomes too dry to process.

6. Now return the corn paste to the pan with the chicken stock and cook, while stirring, on low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the mixture thickens to mashed potato consistency. (Be aware that if you have a lot of liquid left in the pan, it can take a while to cook down the polenta, and it will sputter. Consider holding back some or all of the liquid. Alternately, if you like the consistency after processing, you can skip to step 5.)

7. Fold in the butter, the parmesan, salt and some white pepper and optionally cook for a further 2/3 minutes to dry the polenta some more.

8. Taste and add more salt if needed.

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Eggplant and Okra Sauce

 

Ingredients.

 

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 medium eggplants or 4 small one, cut into 3/4-inch dice

1½  cup Okra, cut in ½ inch pieces

2 teaspoons tomato paste

1tsp Aleppo pepper

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 cup chopped peeled tomatoes (fresh or canned)

⅓ cup Chicken or shrimp stock

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon chopped oregano

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Directions.

Heat up the oil in a large saucepan and fry the eggplant on medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until nicely brown. Remove and set aside on paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

Add the okra and sauté on medium/high heat until nicely browned. Remove and set aside with the eggplant.

Drain off as much oil as you can and discard it. 

Add the tomato paste and Aleppo pepper to the pan and caramelize a little before adding the eggplant and okra back in the pan.

Cook for 2 minutes, then add the wine and cook for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, stock,, salt and oregano and cook for a further 5 minutes to get a deep-flavored sauce. 

Set aside; warm it up when needed.

 

The eggplants can be replace by zucchinis

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