Summer Corn Puree
Mid-August is peak corn season, so if it's around grab it and cook it as soon as possible. The beauty is that you don't need much to make a vegetable sing when they're at peak season. It's best to buy it from a farmers market so you know you're getting the freshest corn possible. Corn goes downhill as soon as it's picked, so the sooner you can get it, the better. You want bright green husks, pearly kernels and the silk should have nice sheen to it. Make sure the corn is in it's husk or else they'll begin to dry out.
This recipe uses minimal ingredients and is pretty low on the fat. You can omit the butter to keep it even lower. The 2% buttermilk is thick and viscous and gives a bit of tang to balance out the abundant sweetness you'll get from the corn itself. A little bit of vinegar / acid will help round it out. As far as the texture goes, it's not going to be silky smooth unless you want to load it up with heavy cream and fat to smooth things out. It'll be delicious either way. This side goes extremely well with good salty flavors, like Sea Scallops which you can find here.
Equipment
- Vitamix or Blender
- Medium Fry Pan
Ingredients
- 3 ears of corn. (2 yellow, 1 white)
- 2tbsp unsalted butter
- kosher salt
- 1/2 cup 2% buttermilk (or more if needed)
- 2tbsp butter
- 2 tsp champagne vinegar
Cooking Instructions
- Peel the husk of the corn off
- Remove as much of the silk as possible
- Using a larger chef knife, hold the corn vertically with the root stem at the top, cut downwards to slice the kernels off the cob.
- Remove any remaining silk
- Heat 2tbsp butter in sauté pan
- Once fragrant, add the corn and a good pinch of salt
- Cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until corn is tender, stir / toss every few minutes to make sure it doesn't stick to the pan.
- After the corn is cooked, transfer it to the Vitamix or similar blender.
- Add 1/4 cup buttermilk
- Puree starting at low speed and slowly increase the speed. Make sure the top is covered so it doesn’t splash.
- Add the butter
- Slowly add more buttermilk while watching the consistency. You don't want it to be soupy. It's easy to add, but you cannot take away, so only add a little each time.
- Add kosher salt to taste.
- Stop the blender and taste.
- Adjust your salt if needed.
- Add 2tsp champagne vinegar while pureeing on low speed just to mix.
- Taste and adjust seasoning. The corn should be very sweet, so salt and acid will counteract that, but more importantly complement it.
