Esquites Con Tostados

Chris and I have gone to Oakland's Eat Real Festival for a few years running now, and naturally they have amazing food. This year, I think the winners (in our eyes, at least) were the lamb poutine and the sweet potato waffle pie (with salted bourbon butterscotch syrup). We ate so much of those that we didn't have room for an old favorite of mine, NIDO's Esquite Placero.

Now, I tried translating "Esquite Placero" (via Google, of course), and apparently it's meaningless drivel. As far as I can figure, it is referencing esquites, which is a roasted corn dish with cotija cheese. NIDO's "Placero" is served up on a plate, unlike (so I read) esquites. But the major points of roasted corn and cotija cheese are definitely met. And it is delicious. What more can you ask for?

My take is certainly a bit different then NIDO's; hitting up the highlights of roasted corn and pepper, toasted pepitas, crumbled cotija, all served over some excellent tortilla chips. I, however, went the route of tomatillo salsa rather than aioli.


Esquites Con Tostados (Roasted Corn with Tortilla Chips)
serves 4

Esquites
2 ears of corn
2 red bell peppers
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

Tomatillo Salsa
1 pound tomatillos
4 jalapenos
4 cloves garlic
handful of cilantro
salt to taste

Cotija cheese
Tortilla chips (I made oven-baked chips: day-old tortillas tossed with canola oil and salt, baked [in a single layer on a cookie sheet] at 350°F for 12 min)


1. De-paper and blend the tomatillos with the rest of the salsa ingredients

2. Broil the bell peppers and the corn*

3. Once charred, remove from the oven and cover the peppers with a damp cloth for a few minutes

4. While the peppers are steaming, turn oven to 350°F and toast the pumpkin seeds (in a single layer in a metal pan with a rim) for 10-15 minutes (if making home-baked chips, you can put them in the oven with the seeds)

5. Cut the corn off the cob

6. Remove the charred skin from the peppers, then mince coarsely

7. Once the pumpkin seeds are toasted, toss together with the corn and the pepper

8. Crumble the cotija

9. On a plate, layer the tortilla chips with the roasted veg & seed mix, the cheese and the salsa

* Note: I just read a suggestion to cut the corn off the cob and fry it up in some oil until pleasantly brown rather than broil it. I'll try this next time.

Tomato and Corn Biscuit Pie

I saw a recipe for tomato and corn pie last summer on Smitten Kitchen and just had to make it. Considering how much I liked it, I'm surprised I didn't post it on here sooner. I have made only a couple very minor adjustments, the two important ones being using my own biscuit recipe for the crust (2/3 of the Yogurt Biscuit recipe) and using drained homemade yogurt in place of mayo and lemon juice.

Tomato and Corn Pie
serves 8

Crust
3 oz pastry flour
6 oz ap flour (or 3 oz ap, 3 oz whole wheat)
(that's about 2 cups flour total)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter
3/4 to 1 cup (~6 ounces) plain yogurt

Filling
1-3/4 lb tomatoes (2 large or 3 medium), blanched and peeled
1-1/2 cups corn (from 3 ears), coarsely chopped by hand
1/4 cup basil leaves
1/8 cup chives
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
6-7 oz (1-1/2 to 1-3/4 cup) cheddar, grated
about 1 cup yogurt to drain (alternately, 1/3 cup mayonnaise + 2 tablespoons lemon juice or scant 1/2 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F

2. Place two layers of paper towel in a colander and set the colander over a bowl. Scoop in about 1 cup yogurt to drain

3. In a large mixing bowl, mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, and the salt for the crust

4. Grate in the butter

5. Add the yogurt and mix gently until all ingredients are in a ball

6. Split the ball of dough in two and roll out on a well-floured sheet of wax paper

7. Place bottom crust into a pie tin

8. Slice tomato into rounds, and gently deseed; roughly chop the corn (if you haven't already); finely chop the chives and basil; grate the cheese

9. Layer into the pie crust half each of the tomato slices, corn, cheese, herbs and spices (salt and pepper); then layer in the second half

10. Top with a scant 1/2 cup drained yogurt

11. Top with the second rolled out crust, seal and flute the edges, then cut air vents in the top (as with any other pie)

12. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly