Audio By Carbonatix
Rival NBA Finals cities may be embroiled in a pizza war, but Orlando’s pride extends beyond the court and oven this time of year, into the corn fields. Sweet and delicious Zellwood corn is in season now, grown and harvested just a few hours north to the delight of chefs like Kurtis Jantz and Chad Galiano of Neomi’s in Trump land on Sunny Isles Beach. Galiano recently blogged on the tasty kernels that these molecugastro wunderkinds were whipping up for a recent Paradigm seating. Which got me thinking… what about the home cook? They answered the call (or was it email? tweet?) and the results look scrumptious.
“This dish is a great summertime creation. It’s very light,” Galiano explains. “Both peaches and corn are in full swing right now for summer as well as
our chosen cooking technique of grillin’. We suggest a side glass of iced sangria spiked with apricot brandy… a
margarita would be nice as well.”
In true collaborative form (the two have been working together for
years, beginning at the Royal Sonesta New Orleans,) Executive Chef Kurtis drew inspiration for the grilling technique from his
trips to Mexico City where vendors on
boats would grill the whole ears, pull back the husks, and brush the
ears with a little mayo cream, sprinkle of chili powder, and some
grated cheese. Mmmm, my lips are tingling at the thought.
The plate elements are as follows. It’s not your traditional recipe — more like a list of processes for the components — but what is in this ‘test kitchen’ is anyway?
* zellwood corn- steam or boil the shucked ears for a minute to
tenderize, then coat with butter and grill until browned, shave kernels
off carefully so that they stay in clusters
* yellow peaches- cut in half, remove stone pit, lightly grill for color, slice very thin
* chipotle honey cream- blend 1/2 each chipotle pepper (from can,
chipotle in adobo), with 1 1/2 Tbsp of honey, 1 tsp sour cream and 1
cup of cream. Be careful with the adobos and use less if you don’t
like spicy… these suckers are HOT!
* lime vinaigrette- very simple… squeeze out 1 lime, and whisk in a teaspoon or so of extra virgin olive oil
* mexi-cocoa popcorn- pop some popcorn on the stove, and dust with
some Mexican bitter chocolate shaved on a microplane. Reserve extra
shavings for plate presentation
* cotija cheese- grated fine
* herbs- we used some micro cilantro from Tropical Delights in
Homestead who have a unique
and interesting variety of horticulture on their farm. The darker
leaves are from an oregano ‘vine’ growing right outside of Chef Kurtis’
front door… just clip and go!
* lime wedges… for garnish and an extra hit of lime on the dish
Come on y’all, you can do it, especially since the farm makes it easy for you to have your very own fresh and sweet Zellwood corn delivered to your doorstep.
And if you fancy more whimsy like in this here photo, check out Paradigm at Neomi’s Restaurant inside the Trump International Beach Resort in
Sunny Isles Beach, every
Friday, 10 seats, 10 courses, 7 p.m. They also have a Scotch pairing dinner
scheduled for June 25.
