Corn and Chile Succotash

As our box veterans know, organic sweet corn from Full Belly may have a corn earworm in the tip. If you feel the tip and it is mushy, simply cut about 1 & 1/2-inch off of the ear and discard it.

The pollination of an ear of corn is quite a miracle but drought, high temperatures and insects can cause problems. Some of the corn in your boxes suffered temperatures well above 100° during the critical pollination phase.  Each individual kernel in an ear of corn is the result of a pollen gran traveling up the silk. We are giving you plenty of corn, but some ears may have “blanks” where the pollen didn’t travel up and create a pollinated kernel.

To cut kernels from the cob for salads, succotash, corn chowder, or the recipe below: Hold the stem end of the husked ear of corn and rest the tip of the ear on the bottom of a large bowl. Use a sharp paring knife to cut off the corn kernels and let them fall into the bowl.

4 ears of corn – remove the kernels (see note above)
1 medium pasilla or poblano chile
1 cup chopped sweet red onion 
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, diced
black pepper
salt
5 or 6 sprigs of basil, leaves removed and chopped coarse

Chop the onion and chile so that the pieces are comparable in size to the kernels of corn. Dice the garlic.  

In a large skillet heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, garlic and chile and cook until onions are translucent.

Pour the corn into skillet and cook for 3 to 5 minutes over high heat. Cook for about 5 minutes without stirring. You want the corn to char just a bit. A moment before you turn the heat off, add the basil to wilt. Remove from the heat.

Season with salt and pepper and serve.