01 September 2009

very corny

We've just pulled up two beds of blighty tomatoes. But we're not feeling too downhearted, as we still have bushels of sweetcorn:

This year we have a whole bed-full of tall, sturdy stalks. Standing in their midst, enjoying their papery rustle, I can easily imagine myself in an Iowa field...

While the sweetcorn is delicious as-is, quickly boiled on-the-cob and served with butter and salt, it also makes a super Sweetcorn and Spring Onion Tart with Polenta Crust:

The polenta crust is the most amazing yellow, ever-so-pleasantly gritty, and works wonderfully with the delicate sweetcorn filling. But what a nightmare it was to make. G had to rush in and take charge, as the brittle dough crumbled and I collapsed in tears...

We'll most definitely be making this tart (from Tamasin Day-Lewis' The Art of the Tart) again. So light and tasty, it's the perfect late summer/early autumn dish. But we might need to gather a few polenta pointers first!

10 comments:

  1. Your tart looks wonderful, even if it was feisty!

    We had the first of our corn simply blanched last weekend - the children ate it faster than I've ever seen them eat veggies before! We only planted 12 plants this year - we weren't sure what would work and what wouldn't on our windy site - but suffice to say next year they've requested we grow many, many more.

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  2. Glad that it all worked out in the end, we can't have tarts and tears now can we:) D x

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  3. We ate our first corn on Monday - blanched and smeared with butter... it was wonderful. Do like the look of the tart though.

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  4. Sometimes it helps if you simnply press the dough down in the tin instead of rolling it and trying to lift it. Don't know about polenta dough but it always worked with a difficult to handle ground hazelnut dough I used to make quite often some years ago. Your tart looks delicious.

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  5. that looks amazing. I feel hungry again!!

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  6. Polenta crust is hard to work with because it is mixed with hot water and dries quickly when you roll it out, so it becomes crumbly unless you dab it with water to keep it moist. Nobody wants a loose tart!

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  7. If that polenta crust EVER reduces you tears again, you just call me.

    No bully polenta crust is EVER going to make my buddy K feel bad AGAIN.

    No way. No how.

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  8. I really wish we would have planted corn this year - this looks wonderful!

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  9. Seriously impressed with this. I have not grown sweetcorn for a few years because of lack of space. Yours looks fabulaous. As for the polenta crust, words fail me!

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