Creole Corn Bisque with Corn Muffin
This post contains three recipes: Corniest Corn Muffins, Creole Corn Soup and Smoky Tomato Butter. It’s a bit long I know, but worth the effort if you try any or all of the recipes.
On Friday, when I opened the refrigerator door I was greeted by 8 ears of corn, still in their husks, which had been waiting for my attention since last Sunday. It was time to do something with the stuff before it went bad. This corn is incredibly sweet and fresh. I was eating it raw a couple weeks ago because it was so sweet and tender. This time though, I wanted to make something a little more complicated. This soup is fairly simple to make and is quite good, but what really makes it taste wonderful is the Smokey Tomato Butter. I had enough corn left over from the soup to make Dorie Greenspan’s Corniest Corn Muffins. All three recipes follow. Tonight is the Tomato Festival dinner party, so those photos will be posted soon!
Creole Corn Soup
I’m not sure where I got this recipe, it was in my files and so I made it. If you find a source for it, let me know!
1 1/2 tablespoon corn oil
1 cup yellow chopped onion
1 1/4 cup carrots, chopped
1 1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup dry sherry – I used some plum brandy and it worked out nicely.
3 cups corn kernels
2 bay leaf
2 quarts vegetable stock
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tsps marjoram,
¼-1/2 tsp red crushed pepper flakes
Directions:
Heat oil in a stockpot and sauté onion, carrot and celery until soft. Add sherry and reduce by 1/2. Add corn and bay leaf. Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are very tender.
Puree soup in a blender or food processor and return to clean stockpot. Add cream, salt and pepper. Return to stove, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Let cool and add tarragon. Garnish hot soup with 1 tsp of smoked tomato butter and dehydrated sweet corn.
Smokey Tomato Butter
This one has a source, but I’m hesitating on posting it because it is from a book I want to give as a gift to someone who reads the blog. Sorry!
1 pound ripe plum tomatoes
3 large cloves garlic; unpeeled
1 ½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 scallions, white and tender pale green parts, finely sliced
2 sticks of unsalted butter
juice of one lime
½-1 tsp smoked paprika
Sea salt
Pre-heat the oven to 475 then place the tomatoes in a single layer in a baking dish and roast, turning them occasionally until the skins are blackened and the flesh is soft, 20-25 minutes. Let cool, then peel and discard the blackened skins. Halve the tomatoes and scoop out and discard the seeds.
While your tomatoes are roasting, over medium-high heat in a dry skillet, toast the garlic cloves for 10-15 minutes, until the skins are blackened. Let cool, peel and discard the skin.
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the scallions and cook gently for about 4 minutes, or until they are tender and translucent. Add the tomatoes and garlic and cook over high heat for 3-5 minutes, or until any excess juices have simmered off and the mixture looks thick. Stir often to prevent scorching. Cool.
Transfer the tomato mixture to a food processor. Add half the butter, the lime juice, ¼ tsp paprika, and ½ tsp sea salt. Process briefly to combine, then add the remaining butter and process until you have a smooth mixture. Taste and add additional paprika and salt if necessary.
Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until the butter mixture is firm enough to handle.
Corniest Corn Muffins
- makes 12 muffins -
Adapted from Baking From My Home To Yours
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
6 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
1 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 tablespoons corn oil
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup corn kernels (add up to 1/3 cup more if you’d like), fresh, frozen or canned (in which case they should be drained and patted dry)
Procedure
Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter or spray the 12 muffin molds in a regular-size muffin tin, or fit the molds with paper muffin cups.
Working in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. In a large glass measuring cup with a spout or in another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, oil, egg and yolk. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough – the batter will be lumpy and that’s just the way it should be. Stir in the corn kernels. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin molds.
Slide the pan into the oven and bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Pull the pan from the oven and carefully lift each muffin out of its mold and onto a rack to cool.
Serving: The muffins are great warm or at room temperature and particularly great split, toasted and slathered with butter or jam or both (if they’re not in breadbasket at dinner, that is).
Storing: Like all muffins, these are best eaten the day they are made. If you want to keep them, it’s best to wrap them airtight and pop them into the freezer, where they’ll keep for about a month; re-warm in a 300°F oven, if you’d like, or split them and toast them—do that and they’ll be that much more delicious with butter.
