That’s so corny!
I am loving the new recipe I devised for my Berkshire Eagle column this past week. Although I had never had “corn cheese,” I had read about that dish and figured I’d try it to use some leftover frozen corn I had, which I then decided to fold into a tortilla. I’m so glad I did – I’ve made this several times already!
ANOTHER WAY WITH SUMMER CORN
by Elizabeth Baer
In my view, sweet summer corn on the cob requires little else besides a bit of butter and a sprinkling of salt. For my husband, he doesn’t even need the butter! So why would I suggest any other way of eating this short-lived seasonal treat?
Even if you likewise feel there is no better way to serve sweet corn, stick with me here for another possibility! A small problem arises for us because we always buy too much corn, more than the two of us will eat for dinner. We typically say those extra are just insurance against an ear or two that any worm might have found. But who are we kidding – that happens rarely enough that we really don’t need to get an extra ear or two every single time.
Yet still we do. More often than not, I’ll cut the kernels off of any ears we don’t eat – I even had a single-use gadget for doing so! – and put them in the freezer for a sunny, summer taste in the middle of the winter. This year, though, I’ve created a new recipe which has already been a delicious lunch on several occasions. The first time I made it was with frozen corn.
Back in March I went to the Poconos for the weekend on a food writers’ retreat. The venue was self-catering, so Jenn, who organized everything, had gone shopping for the menus that we participants had all planned prior to the weekend. (Each of us was assigned to a team that was responsible for one meal.) When it was time to leave, there were some unused ingredients we couldn’t leave there, and since I was driving, I took some of the frozen items, including a bag of corn.
Not too long after this, I took an online Zoom class on making kimchi with Betty, one of my friends from this same weekend. Taking a cue from her love of SoCal cuisine, I decided to fold the Korean bar snack known as corn cheese into a tortilla, for a multicultural quesadilla served with my inaugural batch of kimchi on top! I have since tried it with fresh corn and store-bought kimchi (found in the refrigerator section), as I always want to be sure my recipes work well, even if you don’t make everything from scratch.
So next time you make corn on the cob, make a couple of extra ears, cut the kernels from the cob, and try these quesadillas the next day!
KOREAN CORN CHEESE QUESADILLAS WITH KIMCHI
Makes 4 quesadillas using 8-inch tortillas; yield will vary depending on tortilla size
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup corn kernels (cooked and cut off the cob or frozen corn defrosted and drained)
¾ cup shredded cheese, either mozzarella or a blend
⅓ cup mayonnaise
⅛ teaspoon sugar
Neutral oil as needed
Four 8-inch flour tortillas (soft taco size; other sizes with work with adjustments)
1-1½ cups kimchi, or more as desired
DIRECTIONS:
Place the corn, shredded cheese, mayonnaise, and sugar into a small bowl. Stir to combine fully. Set aside.
Heat a small amount of oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. If using a nonstick pan, you will need less oil. Swirl the oil a bit to distribute. Take two flour tortillas and position them in the pan in such a way that about half of each is in contact with the pan and the other half is standing upright. (The two upright parts will be leaning against one another.)
Take about one quarter of the corn mixture, which should be about ⅓-½ cup, and place on one tortilla, spreading the corn mixture out to cover one half. Fold the other half over to close. Repeat to add the filling to the second tortilla. Cook, turning two or three times, until cheese in the filling is melted and the tortilla has plenty of browned spots.
Repeat with two more tortillas to make the third and fourth quesadillas, adding more oil if needed.
Serve with ¼-⅓ cup kimchi on top of each quesadilla.