RECIPE: Rec: Corn, Sweet Onion & Zucchini Sauté with Fresh Mint This is delicious, I saw a

RECIPE:

curious1

Well-known member
reference to it on a blog and looked it up in my FC magazine. Reminiscent of the Mexican Calabacitas, I think. My mint succumbed to heat and humidity long ago, I used some Thai basil, it was good, regular basil would also work if you're mint-challenged.

Corn, Sweet Onion & Zucchini Sauté with Fresh Mint

Fine Cooking Aug/Sep 2007

Serves 4 as a side dish

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups small-diced sweet onion, such as a Vidalia (about 7 oz. or half a large onion)

1 tsp. kosher salt; more to taste

1 1/4 cups small-diced zucchini (about 6 oz. or 1 medium-small zucchini)

2 slightly heaping cups fresh corn kernels (from 4 medium ears)

2 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 tsp. (scant) ground cumin

1/2 tsp. (scant) ground coriander

2 to 3 Tbs. chopped fresh mint

1/4 lemon

freshly ground black pepper

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter with the olive oil in a 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the onions and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Uncover, raise the heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are light golden and shrunken, another 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the zucchini. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is slightly shrunken and almost tender, about 3 minutes. Add the corn, garlic, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, until the corn is tender but still slightly toothy to the bite, 3 to 4 minutes. (It will begin to intensify in color, glisten, and be somewhat shrunken in size, and the bottom of the pan may be slightly brown.) Add the cumin and coriander and cook, stirring, until very fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Remove the pan from the heat, add all but about 1/2 tablespoon of the mint, a good squeeze of lemon, and a few generous grinds of pepper. Stir, let sit 2 minutes, and stir again, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan (moisture released from the vegetables as they sit will loosen the bits). Season to taste with more salt, pepper, or lemon. Serve warm, sprinkled with the remaining mint.

 
Served this with a Morrocan saffron chicken with prunes & carrots plus couscous. It all

worked very well. Next time I'll put a bit less lemon juice into the veg and lots more mint. I love mint.

Thanks Curious.

 
Sounds like a great combo, I'll use mint when fall comes and I can grow herbs again. Thai basil is

minty, though.

 
REC: Saffron Chicken with Carrots Khoreshte Morgh

Saffron Chicken with Carrots - Khoreshte Morgh Serves 4
From Secrets of Cooking, Armenian / Lebanese / Persian
Linda Chirinian PP: 106


8 chicken thighs
1 ½ lb. carrots, sliced or matchsticks
salt and freshly ground pepper
3 T. sugar or honey
6 T. butter
½ t. saffron thread crushed into 2 T. hot water
1 ½ c. hot chicken broth 1/4 c. orange juice
1 med. onion, finely chopped
12 pitted prunes

Rinse chicken, pat dry. Sprinkle with s & p on both sides. Melt 4 T. Butter in large skillet. Brown chicken over med-high heat on both sides. Transfer to a saucepan and pour hot broth over chicken. Cover and cook over med-low for 10 minutes.

Add remaining 2 T. Butter to skillet and saute onion till transparent. Add carrots and honey; stir to coat. Cook stirring frequently 5 minutes. Transfer to saucepan with chicken.

Strain saffron if desired (I didn’t) and pour liquid into saucepan over chicken. Cook covered over med-low for 20 minutes.

Add orange juice and prunes, reduce heat to low, cook 15 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.

My Notes: I used the entire quantity of saffron for ½ the recipe. I used the saffron as well as the water. It’s the major flavour and we loved it this way. In other words, I doubled the saffron and included the threads as well, in the end product.
I cooked the chicken far less than all of the times indicated.

Served this with couscous which I cooked in the last moments, using the chicken cooking liquid for almost all of the couscous liquid. Best couscous ever.

Could add some toasted pine nuts for interest.

 
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