Literally overflowing with summer's bounty.
Summer is the season of thriving growth and bounty. Brilliant fruits and vegetables bursting from gardens and orchards, spilling off farmer’s market stands, tumbling out of crates and baskets. By mid-July, my dinner plate is also overflowing with the glory of summer’s bounty—sometimes literally. Like with this week’s Confetti Corn Toasts.
Glistening gold corn and milky green edamame, flecked with emerald scallions and popping with juicy red tomatoes, spilling over thick-cut bacon-greased toast. Whether you’re throwing a back-yard party or making a quick weekend lunch, this is the perfect dish to celebrate summer.
As with any fancy toast, you can adapt these Confetti Corn Toasts for any occasion you want. Serve the confetti corn salad on thick-cut slices of country bread and call it dinner. Downsize to a single spoonful of the corn salad on baguette crostini and pass them around on hor d’oeuvres platters. You could even set out a big bowl of the corn on a buffet table with a platter of crackers and pre-toasted bread and let people build their own. Big or small in size, composed or not, this confetti corn will still overflow with vibrant summer colors and burst with the season’s bountiful flavors: juicy, sweet, and completely delicious.
Enjoy!
Confetti Corn Toasts
(Makes 6 dinner-sized toasts or 12 appetizer-sized toasts)
3 ears of corn, husked
¾ cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
3 tbsp plus 1 tsp vegetable oil, divided
4 slices bacon
4 scallions, whites and light green parts thinly sliced, dark green parts sliced on a bias
2 small red chile, seeded and thinly sliced*
1 ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
6 large pieces white country bread, sliced about ½ inch thick, cut in half on a diagonal
*The chiles add a needed kick of background spice to balance the sweet produce and won't make the dish "spicy"; if you're unsure about them, try using 1 to start.
Special equipment: sheet pan
Method
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add the shucked corn and cook until the kernels are tender when pierced with a knife, about 4-5 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly. Slice off kernels.
Bring the water back to a boil and add the edamame. Cook until tender, about 2 minutes for frozen edamame; remove and drain well.
Heat a medium pan over medium heat and add 1 teaspoon oil. Add bacon and cook until rendered and crispy, about 4-5 minutes. Remove bacon to a plate and break into ½-inch thick shards Drain fat carefully into a small cup; reserve.
Add one tablespoon oil to the pan and place back over medium heat. Add white and light green scallion; saute until the scallion begins to turn translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add chile and cook 1 minute more. Add remaining two tablespoons oil, corn kernels, edamame, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt and saute, tossing occasionally until lightly browned, about 1 minute more. Add halved cherry tomatoes and toss to lightly warm, then remove to a large bowl.
Add apple cider vinegar, remaining teaspoon kosher salt, and freshly cracked black pepper to the corn salad and toss. Fold in bacon shards and about three-quarters of the green scallions.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange bread on a sheet pan; drizzle with reserved bacon fat. Toast in oven for 2-3 minutes or until crisp on the outside. (Alternately, toast bread individually in a toaster and then drizzle with bacon fat).
Top toasts with corn salad. Garnish with more green scallions and freshly cracked black pepper.
Originally posted July 21, 2021.
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