Corn Fields Forever

Inside the Ingredients

By Nora Rae Pearl | Aug. 19, 2023

Welcome to a new featurette in Northern Express! We’re excited to share recipes—featuring local ingredients bought at local stores and farms—to inspire seasonal cooking with the help of home chef Nora Rae Pearl.

As the blustery clouds roll in and glimpses of color in the trees tease us into thinking fall is almost here, corn arrives to remind us that the harvest is just beginning. Once those fields of green get their feather yellow tops, you know it’s time to look roadside for the bounties of fresh-picked goodness.

While any place you stop is likely to have a delicious variety, Stonyfield Acres farmstand off M-72 in Empire has some of the sweetest corn you can get your hands on this season. For the following recipes, you’ll want August’s best—corn that is yellow, tender, and juicy.

Creamy Corn Fettuccine

Serves 6
For this season, we’re offering a new take on an old classic. Both sweet and spicy, this creamy pasta will have you coming back for seconds.

Ingredients
1 pound fettuccine
6 ears of corn, shucked
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook fettuccine until al dente. Before draining, set aside 3/4 cup pasta water.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, sauté the onion in oil until softened. Set aside one cup of corn. Add the garlic, maple syrup, salt, cayenne, and remaining corn to the onions. Cook until heated through. Transfer to a blender. Add reserved 3/4 cup pasta water and the lemon juice. Blend until very smooth. Toss pasta with the sauce until well coated. Plate, then garnish with reserved corn and freshly cracked pepper.

Blue Corn Cherry-Oh Tamales

Makes around 3 dozen
If you didn’t have your end of summer dinner fiesta yet, here’s a recipe to get you started. Look no further than Hallstedt Homestead Cherries in Northport for the sweetest tart cherries this side of the Mitten.

Ingredients
4 cups Instant Blue Corn Masa Flour (not interchangeable with cornmeal)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil, frozen for 2 hours until semi-solid
4 cups vegetable broth, warmed
2 ears of corn, shucked
40 to 45 dried corn husks

Filling
2 cups tart cherries, pitted and halved
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
Juice of 1 lemon

Instructions
Place husks in a large bowl of hot tap water. Set aside, soak for at least 30 minutes.

Combine all filling ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook on medium-low until thickened and bubbly. Set aside to cool.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add semi-frozen oil, and using a fork, mash into a sandy mixture. Add half of the warmed broth. Mix thoroughly. Add remaining broth. Begin slowly, then start beating more vigorously until the mixture becomes fluffy. Mix in corn. Cover with plastic wrap.

Bring a large pot with 2 inches of water to a simmer over low heat. Have your steamer basket handy.

Take a few corn husks, tear into thin strips. Set aside to tie together tamales after filling. Lay one corn husk flat. Add 2 tablespoons of the corn mixture into the center and pat into a rectangle, but don’t go over the edges. Dollop 2 teaspoons of cherry filling in a line down the center. Fold the corn husk with the filling like a closed book, then open. The corn mixture should seal the cherry filling inside and look like a log. Fold up bottom one inch, then fold down top one inch. Fold over the right and left sides. The filling should be completely sealed inside the folded corn husk. Take a corn husk strip and tie it around the tamale “waist.” Repeat.

Place the steamer in a pot—water should not touch the steamer. Put the tamales on the steamer so they look like straws in a cup. Don’t jam them in; just place in enough tamales to keep them in place. (Cover and refrigerate any remaining uncooked tamales for later or to cook once the first batch is done.) Cover pot and steam the tamales for 40 minutes or until firm to the touch.

Unwrap tamales and place the tamale in the opened husk on a plate. Garnish with creme fraiche, queso fresco, and cherry chipotle hot sauce…which will have to wait until the next time to share the recipe because I’m out of room.

Nora Rae Pearl is 99 percent foodie and 1 percent chef. When she is not writing about food, she can be found waiting in line at the farmers market hoping to get a croissant before they run out.

Photo credit Cody Werme