July 5, 2013 Corn Maque Choux

We had a wonderful crab fest last weekend courtesy of Nik. Along with a half bushel of crabs he brought our first fresh corn of the season from the Eastern Shore of Maryland. We love corn and take advantage of the local harvest for as many weeks as it lasts. We even grew corn at one point but it entered our “too much work to warrant growing it” hall of fame along with asparagus and potatoes. It’s been so long since we’ve grown it I almost don’t remember why we stopped. When we grew our own corn, Joe wanted as little time as possible to pass between the harvesting and the cooking. He certainly had a good point there, as soon as corn is cut from the stalk, the sugars begin converting to starch. I just read in Fine Cooking that some varieties will lose 50 percent of their sweetness when left at room temperature for only a few hours. Therefore, if you grow it, you should take advantage of the freshness.  I would fill up a large pot of water on the stove and get it ready for the boil. Then he would run down to the corn patch, harvest the corn, quick shuck the ears and cook it.  A little salt, melted butter, ah perfection!!

The corn and crabs of Sunday were wonderful and we had about six ears left uncooked. I have made corn pudding and black bean and corn salad with leftover fresh corn in the past, this time I decided on corn maque choux. Maque choux or “smothered corn”  is pronounced “mock shoe” and is a Cajun interpretation of a Native American dish. It is typically a side dish but it can also be the base of entree of shrimp, seared scallops, or chicken.

One of the books I consulted likened maque choux to succotash, a dish of corn kernels, lima beans and sweet peppers. I wanted to add some beans since I didn’t quite have enough corn to make the quantity I desired. Not being a fan of lima beans (both Joe and I have bad childhood memories) I decided edamame would make an excellent substitute for the limas.

Edamame, in case you didn’t know already, are immature soybeans, picked before the “hardening” stage. They are sold both in the pod and shelled, shelled worked out fine for this recipe. Edamame have a sweet, nutty flavor, not dried out and mushy like the canned or frozen limas of years ago.   Frozen corn could be used for this recipe but now is the time to take advantage of the fresh corn that is or will be appearing in your local farmers market.

The best way to remove the kernels from the ears? For me, I first shuck the ears and remove the silk.  To remove the corn from the cob, hold the stem end of the husked ear of corn and rest the tip of the ear on the bottom of a very large shallow bowl. Use a very sharp paring knife to cut off corn kernels and let them fall into the bowl. Be careful to cut just the kernels and not include any of the tough, inedible cob. It’s better, in fact, to leave some kernel behind than to include some cob!  Continue cutting around the ear to remove all kernels. Cutting the kernels into a bowl makes much less mess of splattering corn “milk” and makes it easier to hold the ear at an angle that allows you to cut down around the ear safely.

Considering the low carb, low fat diet everyone seems to following these days, corn, bacon, butter and whole milk put this dish in the category of occasional splurge. But it is also those ingredients that make it a flavorful way to “repurpose” those extra ears from your last cookout.

Corn Maque Choux

Serves 6 as a side dish

Ingredients

• 5 slices of bacon
• 1 c of finely chopped onion
• 2t chopped garlic
• 4T unsalted butter
• 4c fresh corn kernels
• 1c edamame, cooked according to package directions
• 1/2 finely chopped red pepper
• 1/4c chicken broth
• 1/4c whole milk
• 1c chopped tomato
• 1/4c finely chopped Italian parsley
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. Cook bacon in a large heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat until crisp, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain, then coarsely chop.
2. Add onion to the bacon drippings in the pot and cook until golden and softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add butter, corn, and cook for about 8 minutes. Then add edamame and red pepper and cook until heated through, another 3-4 minutes.
3. Return bacon to pot, add broth and milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in tomato and parsley. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Dish can be served warm or at room temperature. Maque choux can be made up to a day ahead and stored in refrigerator; bring to room temperature before serving.