Monday, August 29, 2011

Caramelized corn with tomatoes and bacon


I recently signed up for Washington's Green Grocer, a home delivery service of local and regional produce and products, and have fallen in love.

I generally head to Whole Foods once a week to stock up on greens, fruits and the other incidentals we need for yummy meals, but since I'm buying enough for 2-3 heavy grocery bags, it's become a true production getting there and back without pulling a muscle or splurging on an unnecessary (but comfortable and sweat-free!) cab ride home.

The Giant in our neighborhood has excruciatingly long lines and its produce and seafood generally look less than fresh.

Peapod was certainly an option that intrigued me but we couldn't make our schedules work so that one of us was home within their drop-off windows.

Washington's Green Grocer has solved that problem. They drop off at your front door (or wherever you ask them to leave the goods) and charge you once you've received everything. A small box of food (some organic, some not) runs around $31 and offers you PLENTY for one week of cooking. They email you the list of food for the week on Monday for delivery on Thursday so that you have an opportunity to say, for example, I don't want the cantaloupe but would instead like two orders of corn. Magical, right?!

So in honor of all of the veggies we're consuming, this simple recipe from the kitchn is exactly the thing to make when you have an abundance of tomatoes and corn around. Enjoy.

Caramelized Corn with Tomatoes and Bacon
serves 2-4

3 strips of bacon
3 ears of fresh corn
1/4 cup of finely chopped red onion
pinch of sugar
2 perfectly ripe tomatoes
several fresh basil leaves, shredded or about 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Cut the bacon into 2 inch pieces and fry in a large skillet over meduim-low heat. As the bacon gently cooks, cut the kernels off the corn and chop the onion.

When the bacon has crisped, remove from the pan with a tongs and drain on paper towels or newspaper. Leave the fat in the pan and the heat turned down medium-low. Add the onion and sauté for about one minute and then add the corn. Sprinkle on the sugar and stir gently. If the pan seems to dry, you can add up to 1 tablespoon of butter but be careful, you don't want the dish to get greasy.

Keep an eye on things, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan, until the corn starts to turn golden brown and smells caramelized. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the herbs. Let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, chop the tomatoes into large chunks and place in a serving bowl. When the corn is no longer hot, add to the tomatoes and the reserved bacon and toss gently. Taste for salt and pepper and serve.


(via the kitchn)

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