I discovered you this time last year. I was out to eat. You were in my bowl, melting beneath red wine braised short ribs. You were the very best polenta I had ever tasted, your sweet corn flavor discernible even through the brothy meat smothering you. How could this be, I wondered? I chalked it up to lots of butter and cheese and the sort of restaurant trickery that just can’t be duplicated at home. And so I forgot about you. For a whole year. Tragic! Fresh corn polenta: I’m so happy you’re back in my life. And in my home no less, this time for good. This is the sort of recipe I want to tell everyone about. I want to call all of my friends and family. I want to spark up conversation with people in checkout lines, knock on my neighbors’ doors, stop strangers in the street. It is so good and much to my surprise calls for no sort of restaurant magic — just a box grater, a little butter, and a sauté pan. It’s the kind of thing I could eat every night for dinner, and this week I basically have. I love it with sautéed greens or with a poached egg or just on its own with some cracked pepper and parmesan cheese. Before the season ends, I hope to try it with some sautéed mushrooms, too, which is how they serve it at La Toque, the source of this wonderful recipe. You’ll discover it takes no time to whip up, just a little elbow grease during preparations — grating the ears of corn can be tiring. With that in mind, this is not a dish to make for company. It is the perfect dinner-for-1 or-2. It is simple and delicious. It is restaurant worthy certainly, but comfort food at its core. And I hope it will leave you wondering, as it has left me, where have you been all my life?
Fresh Corn Polenta, Step by Step
First gather your corn. You’ll need two ears for this recipe, but scale it up as needed, keeping in mind grating corn on a box grater is a bit of an arm workout. Grate the corn into a large bowl. Melt two teaspoons of butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the corn, season with salt… … and cook for 3 minutes. For the blistered tomatoes: place a pint of cherry tomatoes in a small skillet. Toss with olive oil, salt, and garlic, and broil for 15 minutes. Add fresh basil out of the oven. Spoon the jammy tomatoes over the fresh corn polenta. Finish with fresh parmesan and pepper to taste, if you wish. Also delicious with a poached egg on top. 5 from 37 reviews This is also delicious topped with a poached egg or aside sautéed greens.
