Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for fresh sweetcorn polenta with greens and hazelnuts

From theguardian.com

A decadent creamed corn topped with cherry tomatoes, chard, watercress and peas 

I’ve been thinking about the Green Giant recently and how much he’s done to inform people’s relationship with sweetcorn. I’m not suggesting that tinned sweetcorn is bad at all, just that most of us in Britain grew up eating it rather than fresh – and there aren’t many vegetables for which that is the case. Fresh corn is a different beast: it is milkier, starchier, silkier and more savoury (or modestly sweet) when cooked. When pureed like this, it turns into a rich, decadent base and a perfect partner for some seasonal pals, such as peas, chard and tomatoes dressed with a little vinegar and oil.

Fresh sweetcorn polenta with greens and hazelnuts

Fresh corn is often at its cheapest when at its most abundant and in season (ie. now to October). You’ll need a stick blender to puree the corn.

Prep 20 min
Cook 45 mins
Serves 4

6 sweetcorn cobs, husks and any silky hairs removed (or 1kg frozen sweetcorn kernels, defrosted)
6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
1¾ tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp aleppo pepper
50g blanched hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
4 banana shallots (200g), peeled and cut into fine rounds (about 150g net)
1 red chilli, finely sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
400g ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
200g chard, leaves and stalks separated, stalks cut into 8cm lengths, leaves cut into 5cm-wide strips
100g watercress, woody ends removed and discarded, the rest chopped
200g peas, defrosted if frozen
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Meera Sodha's fresh sweetcorn polenta with greens and hazelnuts. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian. Food styling: Hanna Miller. Prop styling: Jennifer Kay. Food styling assistant: Alice Earll.

Using a sharp knife and a sturdy chopping board, stand one peeled sweetcorn on its end and carefully run the knife from top to bottom as close to the core as you can, to free the kernels on all sides. Repeat with the other cobs.

Collect all the kernels in a saucepan and add three tablespoons of oil, 400ml water, a teaspoon of salt and the aleppo pepper, and stir. Put the pan on a medium heat, bring to a boil, then pop on the lid, turn the heat to low and leave to bubble away for 20 minutes. Take off the heat and, with a stick blender or food processor, pulse to a coarse puree.

Put the chopped hazelnuts in a wide saucepan for which you have a lid, then set it on a medium heat and toast the nuts for about three minutes, moving them around the pan, until just turning gold. Transfer to a bowl, return the pan to the heat, add the remaining three tablespoons of oil, the shallots and remaining three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt, and cook, stirring, for five minutes.

Add the chilli and garlic, and cook, stirring, for two minutes. Now add the tomatoes and chard stalks, stir to mix, then pop the lid on and leave to cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add the chard leaves and watercress, cover again and leave to cook and wilt for a further two minutes. Stir in the peas and apple cider vinegar, cook, uncovered, for two minutes, then take off the heat.

Spoon the creamed corn on to a platter, top with the greens, scatter over the chopped hazelnuts and serve with a final drizzle of olive oil.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/jul/23/vegan-recipe-sweetcorn-polenta-greens-hazelnuts-meera-sodha