Late Summer's Gold and Green

photo by L. Gatto-White

All Summer long we’ve been feasting on ripe juicy berries and dainty plums, delicate petty-pan summer squash, tender baby beets and sweet little turnips, spicy arugula, piquant mustard greens, exotic radicchio Treviso, crisp bulb onions, sweet shell peas, meaty broad beans, giant garlic scapes, fragrant rosemary and basil, gushing ripe- red beefsteak tomatoes, and corn with niblets like delicate pale pearls. And we’re still hungry! The autumn harvest is just around the corner and we wait impatiently for the sweet squash, flagrant red peppers, savoury celeriac, and robust cabbages.

Meanwhile, we can divert our palates with new ways to enjoy the still tender corn and unripe green tomatoes. These little ‘orphans of the vine’ never really reach their full sweet and luscious potential on the windowsill, so appreciate their firm, tangy flesh battered in cornmeal, and topped with goat’s cheese. While barbeque weather holds out, grill corn on the cob topped with a crunchy, buttery herb and cheese crust a great accompaniment to grilled chicken or ribs. I hope you try them both, while enjoying the warm golden rays and lush green of our lingering summer. Bon Appetit!

Herb Crusted Corn

Ingredients:

• 4 ears of corn unhusked
• 2 cup bread crumbs
• 8 tbsps. softened butter
• 1 ½  cups finely shredded cheddar
• 2 tbsps. finely chopped parsley
• generous pinch of salt & pepper
• cotton string

Method:

·       without detaching, peel husks back from the cobs,

·        remove silk and layer of husk from one half of each cob

·         Pull rest of husk over other half of cobs and tie ends with string

·       With your fingers, combine butter and bread crumbs until crumbly

·        Add cheese herbs, salt and pepper

·         Press equal amounts of topping over the exposed cobs, pressing firmly to form a crust

·         Place cobs, husk side down in a shallow tray with ½” inch of warm water for 20 mins.

·         Heat barbeque to medium-high, place cobs on upper rack, close top and grill for approx. 20 mins. until kernels are tender and crust is golden 

                                                

           Fried Green Tomatoes 

Ingredients:

• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 2 large or 3 small green tomatoes
• 1 ½   cups each: flour and cornmeal
• 12 oz. goat’s cheese
• 1 tsp. each: salt and cayenne pepper

Method:

·      Cut tomatoes horizontally in ½” slices, salt lightly

·       Have 3 dishes, one each for egg, flour and cornmeal

·       Season cornmeal with cayenne pepper and salt,

·       dredge tomato slices in flour, dip in egg and coat with cornmeal  

·      Heat ½’’ oil in a skillet  over medium heat

·      Fry tomatoes in batches, turning to brown,

·      drain on paper towels and top with goat’s cheese