Issue #270: Summer Corn Pudding and “Mexican” Rice

Two Dishes that Will Make a Dent in Your Vegetable Drawer

I’m coming to you this week from the kitchen across the way. Our renovation started Monday with the dismantling of the existing kitchen to save some of the cabinets we want to repurpose. —Mitchell

Out with the old…

We’ve reached that time of year in the Northeast when farm stands, green markets, and CSA shares are overflowing with beautiful produce. It’s a happy time, indeed. But it’s also a time when the stress of figuring out what to do with everything before it goes bad can be intense for those of us who have difficulty wasting food.

When we lived in Manhattan, there were days in August and September when my path would take me right to the Union Square Market. But I’d make myself walk around rather than through it because I didn’t have the time or fridge space or the mental capacity to deal with another beautiful vegetable I might see and didn’t have the willpower not to purchase.

Last week’s CSA haul from our local Edgewater Farm.

To help utilize the growing stash of produce in our multiple fridges, I turn to a couple of old friends, recipes that can absorb a deceptively large amount of vegetables. These help make a dent, and, unlike a salad or vegetable side dish, they do so without being “vegetable forward,” if you will. By that I mean Nate will want seconds. Sometimes thirds.

My Summer Corn Pudding and “Mexican” Rice are two prime examples. Each can take upwards of 4 or 5 cups of finely diced vegetables. I’ve made them both this week. (I still have a pile of cucumbers and a bevy of beets to use up.)

Because these recipes are intended to bend to what you’ve got, it’s hard for me to be specific. The vegetable selection is maleable. For my “Mexican”rice last night, I used some red and white onion, garlic scapes, celery, red bell pepper and a serrano chili, fennel stems, summer squash, a crown of broccoli, an open jar of tomato sauce that didn’t have much longer to live, and some chickpeas I cooked two weeks ago that were jockeying with the tomato sauce to get into the compost first.

I put quotation marks around “Mexican” because by the time I’m done adding broccoli and fennel and chickpeas, I’m not sure how Mexican the rice remains. But the distinct flavor combination of peppers, tomato, and cumin make it decidedly moreish.

Earlier this week I used a similar mix of vegetables as the base for my corn pudding, though I added the kernels of two shucked ears of corn, some finely diced daikon radish, and half a bunch of purple shiso, giving it a pleasing Asian accent.

If there are any tricks to success, I think the most important thing is to dice all your vegetables quite small, equal in size, and then sauté them for some time to develop their flavor and reduce their volume. Umami is an important component—of this and most cooking—and to ensure it develops, sautéing the vegetables for some time so their moisture evaporates and they begin to brown helps. I also try incorporate umami rich ingredients, some traditional, some less so, such as white miso, tomato paste, chicken stock, soy sauce, or hard cheese. These flavors should not dominate, rather, you want them to stay in the background and enhance the overall yumminess of the dish.

RECIPE: Mitchell’s “Mexican” Rice

Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients. These are only suggestions for what vegetables you can use.

In addition to the advice above about how to cut and sauté your vegetables, it’s important for the best results to toast your rice—I prefer a fine, short-grain Spanish paella rice or Italian risotto rice. You also want to avoid adding too much liquid. If you do, you can take off the lid, turn up the heat, and encourage some to evaporate. A good rice, nicely toasted, without too much liquid, shouldn’t become gloppy.

Also important is the 15 minutes of resting after the rice is cooked before serving. The rice may scorch a little on the bottom, especially if you have to evaporate some liquid. But the crust that forms, the socarrat in paella-speak, adds desirable flavor and texture. After the rice sits and steams, anything stuck on the bottom of the pan will release and you can mix it in.

Makes 6 to 8 servings, but I could eat the whole thing myself

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

• 1 medium red or white onion, finely diced

• Other alliums, such as scallions, shallots, leeks, garlic scapes, garlic chives, finely chopped

• 1 red, yellow, purple or green bell pepper, seeded and finely diced

• 2 stalks celery or some fennel or 1 large carrot, finely diced

• 1 medium turnip or radish or some celery root, finely diced

• 2 cups finely diced cabbage or kale or broccoli or kohlrabi or cauliflower, summer squash, or fresh corn kernels

• 1 large clove garlic, minced

• 1 cup short grain Spanish or Italian rice, such as La Bomba, Carnaroli, or similar

• 1 large, ripe tomato, diced, or 2 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped, or 1 cup tomato passata or sauce or crushed tomatoes

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 1 tablespoon white miso or soy sauce

• 1 1/2 cups hot chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 cup cooked chick peas or other beans, with some of their cooking water (optional)

• Large handful cilantro, chopped

• Juice of 1/2 lime

• Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the 1/4 cup olive oil in a medium Dutch oven or other stovetop casserole over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until wilted and beginning to brown. Add any other alliums you are using, turnip or other roots, and garlic, and continue sautéing until everything is nicely cooked and soft, about 8 minutes. I like to add a few more tablespoons of olive oil at this point and then add the rice. Cook the rice for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often, to coat with oil and toast.

Add the tomato or tomato product, tomato paste, and miso, and continue cooking, stirring often, until the tomato has coated the rice and reduced. Add the hot stock or water, salt and cumin. Stir to mix well, scraping anything off the bottom of the pan that might have stuck. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to very low, and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the beans, if using, re-cover, and simmer an additional 8 minutes. Remove the lid. The liquid should have been absorbed and not be visible from the surface. If you see liquid, keep the cover off, raise the temperature slightly on the burner, and let simmer for a few minutes to reduce. Then re-cover the pan, remove from the heat, and let sit and steam undisturbed for at least 15 minutes.

Remove the cover fluff the rice with a fork, scrape any bits off the bottom to stir them in. Add the cilantro, lime juice, and a generous grind of black pepper. Toss to combine (without breaking up the grains of rice) and serve.

This week’s Summer Corn Pudding.

RECIPE: Summer Corn Pudding

Here, too, you can’t go wrong with just about any mix of vegetables. Given the name, fresh corn is key, but honestly, you can skip it. This is also a good dish to use up any dairy product that might have turned, such as sour milk. I like to pan fry leftovers in some butter or olive oil and serve them for breakfast with poached eggs.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 large onion, white or red, diced (about 1 cup) and/or any other alliums you’ve got

• 1 small red or green pepper, sweet or spicy, diced (about 3/4 cup)

• 2 to 3 cups seasonal vegetables, such as zucchini, yellow squash, Swiss chard leaves and/or stems, kale, kolrhabi, green tomatoes, garlic scapes, turnips, celeriac, mushrooms, or butternut squash, cleaned, peeled, if appropriate, and cut into small dice

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• Handful of chopped fresh herbs, such as basil, shiso, thyme, parsley, marjoram, and/or sage

• 1 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika

• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper hot sauce, or other spicy chili

• Kernels from 2 or 3 large fresh ears corn (about 3 cups)

• 1/2 cup fine cornmeal

• 3 large eggs

• 1 1/4 cups milk, sour milk, or buttermilk

• 1/2 cup heavy cream, sour cream, plain yogurt, or additional milk

• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

• 1 cup finely shredded hard, sharp cheese, such as cheddar, Gruyère, Comté, Gouda, pecorino, or similar

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Melt the butter in a 9- or 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, pepper, and other vegetables, and salt, and sauté, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and they are beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the sugar, sage, salt, paprika, and cayenne, and cook another 3 or 4 minutes to bring out the flavor of the spices. Add the corn kernels. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until no water remains in the skillet, another 8 minutes or so, longer if using zucchini or mushrooms, which have a lot of water in them. Stir in the cornmeal and remove from heat.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream or more milk, and nutmeg, then pour this into the corn mixture. Using a rubber spatula, move the sautéed vegetables around to combine, so the custard mixture seeps in. Sprinkle with the grated cheese, and bake until risen, browned, and set, about 30 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 5 minutes or so until the melted cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve warm.

Leftover corn pudding, panfried until crisp and served with poached eggs for breakfast.