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A few weeks back I was talking to my friend Jane, who lives in Northern California. I’ve always been jealous of her big backyard garden and long growing season. That day, she was canning tomatoes and peaches. The previous week, she had roasted peppers of all sorts. The next week, she was planning to make a variety of pickles. This process of preserving her garden’s bounty stretches over six weeks each year.
“Have you ever grown corn?” I asked Jane. It was something I had wanted to try, but never had enough space. “I have,” she said, and told me about how wonderfully sweet it was — she would pick it as soon as it was ready and immediately throw the ears on a hot grill. “But I see no reason to can it myself. Canned and frozen corn from the store is just so reliably good.”
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Get the recipe: Cheesy Corn Casserole
There’s nothing like summer corn, cooked and eaten off the cob. But I agree with Jane, frozen and canned corn is pretty darn good — much better than mass market canned tomatoes and frozen berries.
I love using canned and frozen corn in soup and chowder, corn cakes and cornbread, salsa and casseroles — like this one, a pasta casserole with two types of canned corn and a cheesy finish.
It’s inspired in part by corn cheese, which is sometimes served at Korean restaurants as a side dish. If you’ve never had it, trust me when I say that the combination of sweet corn and salty, melty cheese is an ideal accompaniment to spicier, more pungent banchan and rich, grilled meats. I turned that combo into a cheesy corn baked pasta to make it a meal all on its own. I added a little jalapeño (or green bell pepper), scallion and a can of creamed corn for more flavor. If you’re looking for a more filling meal, feel free to toss in more vegetables — chopped tomatoes would be nice — or pieces of leftover rotisserie chicken.
Get the recipe: Cheesy Corn Casserole
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