Enjoy the bounty of a home grown garden or local farmer’s market
I recently participated in a Chef’s Table demonstration at a local cooking school near my home. Each of the participants were given the ingredients from a local farmer’s co-op mystery basket, and asked to make a recipe with the contents. One of the dishes I made is inspired from Arizona and New Mexico where squash and corn find their way into a casserole with cheese and Hatch Chiles. The recipe turned out well, and I was blown away by the farm fresh corn flavor as well as the spiciness of the Hatch chiles. This recipe is highly modifiable and you can add red bell pepper, goat cheese, minced parsley or cilantro. I find the recipe delicious as is, but do make it to suit your needs.
Please read through the step by step instructions and be careful cutting corn off the cob, if you’ve never done it. I would suggest a cut glove if you don’t have advanced knife skills.
Cut off the ends and slice the squash into even sections. This type of squash is known as Grey Squash or Lebanese squash and is interchangeable with Italian Zucchini.
Stack the squash and cut even, horizontal lines, and then cut across to make a small dice.
Take roasted chilies, like these medium-hot Sandia Hatch Chiles, and with the back of a knife, strip off the charred skin.
Lightly cut open the chiles to reveal the pith and seeds. If you do not want too much heat, remove the pith (a string like membrane holding the seeds to the chile). The pith and seeds are where most of the heat is contained.
Cleaned chiles. You do not need to be too fussy cleaning every last seed or every spec of charred skin off. It’s fine if a little is left on the chile.
Cut the chiles into strips.
DO NOT CUT THE CORN OFF THE COB WITH THE KNIFE AT A 90 DEGREE ANGLE. YOU WILL GET CUT THIS WAY. IF IN DOUBT USE A CUT GLOVE.
DO cut the corn off the cob with the knife at a 45 degree angle. With the knife at this angle the corn will come off the cob very easily. Keep the hand holding the corn below the center of the cob so the knife can pass harmlessly over the top. Still, if you do not have the knife skills, proceed slowly use a CUT GLOVE or purchase pre-cut corn.
If you’ve never done this before, proceed slowly until you get a feel for it. Attempt to only cut off 2 or 3 rows of corn at a time.
With the blade at a 45 degree angle, you will be surprised how easily the kernels fall off the cob.
Notice that I’m keeping my thumb and fingers holding the corn below the center-line of the cob.
All of the kernels have been cut off the cob, however this is just the beginning. You want to get all the corn juice or ‘milk’ out of the cob as well. This is the best part and is very sweet. It makes the difference between a surprisingly rich tasting dish, and a mediocre one.
With the back of the knife, run the spine of the blade down the length of the cob to get all of the juice or milk out.
Make sure you are not using the blade, but the back of the knife. This process is relatively easy and fast.
This corn on the cob has given everything it can to the dish. Many people skip this step and miss the best flavor.
All of the vegetables are now ready to be cooked.
In a large sauté pan, cook the corn, garlic, peppers and squash over medium heat to reduce the water content. Cooking the vegetables thoroughly before adding them to the casserole will maximize the flavor and and make the dish less watery.
While the vegetables are cooking, prepare the topping with the softened cream cheese. Start with a mixer on low, fitted with a paddle, and get the cream cheese broken up.
Add the eggs and mayonnaise.
Whip the mixture on medium while occasionally stopping to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. Try to get the mixture smooth and lump free. Once the cream cheese mixture is smooth, add half of the other cheeses-the grated Oaxaca and the parmesan. Mix the cheeses until fully incorporated.
Add the cooked vegetables to a prepared casserole dish (sprayed with cooking oil), leaving a small gap for the topping.
Pour the cream cheese/egg mixture on the top of the vegetables. Sprinkle with other half of the grated cheeses.
Top with crushed Ritz crackers and a light drizzle of butter or oil. You can substitute regular crushed saltines or panko, if you wish.
Cover the casserole with foil, and bake for 30 minutes at 375. Then, remove the foil and brown the top for an additional 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
Allow the casserole to cool for about 8 minutes before cutting and serving.
Fresh Corn, Zucchini & Hatch Chile Casserole is a savory side dish that goes well with just about any protein. I will admit, when I have leftovers it makes a great lunch and is easy to reheat in the oven or microwave.
Wine pairings: Olema Rose Cotes De Provence, 2017, San Gregorio Single Vineyard Las Martas Garnacha, 2014
Fresh Corn, Zucchini & Hatch Chile Casserole
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 large ears corn, fresh cut kernels
- 2 medium zucchini, diced
- 2 Hatch chiles, fire roasted (medium heat, seeds and skins removed)
- 1 bunch scallion, white part and slightly green parts only
- 2-3 large clove minced garlic
- 4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- 2 whole eggs, slightly beaten
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 3/4 cup Oaxaca cheese, shredded can substitute Monterrey Jack
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- 12-14 Ritz crackers, crushed to fine meal
- 1/3 cup butter to drizzle over the top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375. Prepare an 8x8 pan with spray-on cooking oil.
- Remove the corn kennels from the cob inside a large mixing bowl to catch the kernels and the cob milk. (See techniques section.) With the back of the knife, scrape down the length of the cob to remove the corn milk from the cob.
- Dice the zucchini into roughly the size of the freshly cut corn kernels.
- Cut the ends off of the green onions, and dice the remainder of the white and slightly green parts only.
- Purchase pre-fire-roasted chiles. You can also purchase these online from Hatch, New Mexico. They are sold year round, frozen. The frozen chiles work great. They are also sold in cans, but the fresh or frozen are better.To roast chiles yourself, use exposed gas flame or over an outdoor gas or charcoal grill. Be sure to use a long pair of tongs so you do not burn yourself. Chiles grilled outside can be tossed in cooking oil first to help rapidly char the skins. Once the chiles are charred, place them in a mixing bowl and wrap with plastic wrap let them sweat in their own heat for about 10 minutes, before attempting to remove the skins.
- Remove the seeds and skins from the roasted chiles and slice into strips.
- In a large sauté pan, add the olive oil and bring up to just smoking over medium-high heat. Add the corn kernels, zucchini, green chiles, sliced green onion, and minced garlic. Stir often, until the vegetables are soft and cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the vegetables into the prepared 8x8 casserole dish.
- In a stand mixer, add the room temperature cream cheese. Turn the machine on low and get the cream cheese started for the mixture. Next, add the whole egg, mayonnaise, and half of the amounts of both cheeses. Run the mixer slowly at first, until everything begins mixing together. Slowly increase the speed of the mixer, to whip the egg cheese mixture and incorporate it fully. Occasionally stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom, to make sure all of the cream cheese is mixed in.
- Once the egg and cheese mixture is completely incorporated, pour the mixture over the top of the cooked vegetables in the dish. Using a rubber spatula, spread it evenly over the top. Cover the top of the mixture with the second half of the cheeses.
- Cover the casserole with the crushed Ritz crackers. Drizzle a little butter (optional) on top of the crackers. Cover with foil and place in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes remove the aluminum foil from the casserole to let the cracker crumbs get crisp in the oven, about 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the cooked casserole from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.
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