Thursday, August 14, 2008

Tomatoes Stuffed with Grilled Corn Salad

Mother and Daddy came up for lunch today. Mother is a more adventurous eater and will try just about anything, but Daddy is a meat and potatoes man, so cooking for them is a fun challenge for me. I made Herbed Hoosier Pork (recipe on this blog), homemade applesauce using apples from our trees, roasted potatoes and this recipe, Tomatoes Stuffed with Grilled Corn Salad. Mother and my hubby, of course loved it all and Daddy cleaned his plate too, so I consider this meal a big success. The tomatoes are plentiful now, so we're all looking for different ways to prepare them. You can get wonderful produce that this recipe calls for from Lost River Market & Deli and/or the Orange County HomeGrown Farmers Markets. Goat cheese (and feta or blue cheese, which would also taste great as substitutes in this recipe) can be found in the dairy section of the store and I saved time by stopping at the salad bar to get the crispy bacon bits I needed. Melinda and Linda a.k.a. the Deli Chicks, cook up bacon for the salad bar. (Of course, you can cook your own and if you're a vegetarian, this dish could be made without the bacon.) Grilling the corn gives this dish nice flavor, but you could just put the corn in fresh without cooking it on the grill and I think it would still be yummy. If you have the pretty cherry tomatoes (even the gold ones) you could add a few slices to the stuffing for color and flavor. I had about 1 1/2 cups of stuffing left and plan to snack on it for lunch tomorrow.

3 ears corn, with husks
4 beefsteak tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for grates
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/2 cup crumbled soft goat cheese (feta or blue cheese would make nice substitutes)
1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 slices cooked bacon, crumbled (optional)

Pull back corn husks, leaving them attached at base of ear. Remove and discard silk; pull husks back over corn. Place ears in large bowl or baking dish; cover with cold water. Let soak 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut off and discard top third of tomatoes. Using a paring knife, cut around wall of tomato to loosen flesh. Gently squeeze out seeds; discard. With a melon baller, scoop out tomato interiors, leaving the wall intact. Coarsely chop interiors; transfer to a large bowl.
Heat grill to high; lightly oil grates. Drain corn; arrange ears on grill. Cover and cook, turning occasionally with tongs, until husks are slightly charred and corn is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove ears from grill. Holding bottom of hot ears with a towel, peel back husks and cut kernels off cob; transfer to bowl with tomatoes.
Add scallions, all but 2 tablespoons goat cheese, vinegar, and oil. Season with salt and pepper; toss to combine. Spoon filling into hollowed tomatoes; sprinkle with remaining goat cheese and, if desired, bacon.

No comments: