Blend smoky poblano chilies with sweet grilled corn, plus some tomatillos, cilantro, lime and onion, and you’ve got a fresh summer salsa that’s almost a salad.
“Try serving it over grilled meat, lettuce or cabbage, tostada style, topped with sour cream or Mexican crema,” recommend authors Georgeanne Brennan and Ann M. Evans, who teamed up to write the “Market Memories Cookbook,” commemorating 50 years of the Davis Farmers Market.
Charred Corn and Poblano Salsa
Yield: Serves about 1 cup
INGREDIENTS
- 5 tomatillos
- 1 ear fresh sweet corn, shucked
- 1 large poblano pepper
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves plus 3 tablespoons finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
- 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, about 4 limes
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped white or yellow onion
DIRECTIONS
Remove the papery skins from the tomatillo. Over high heat, heat a stovetop grill or comal.
When the grill is hot, add the corn, poblano and the tomatillos. Grill, turning often. When the poblano skin is blistered and charred, remove to a small bowl. Cover with plastic to sweat.
When the corn is golden in spots, remove and set aside. When the tomatillos are showing golden in spots and are softening, remove to a food processor.
Remove the poblano from the bowl, and using your fingers, slip off the skin. Cut the pepper in half lengthwise, remove the coarse stem end and seeds. Coarsely chop half and add to the food processor along with the 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, salt and lime juice. Process to make a chunky paste.
Scrape the paste into a bowl. Finely chop the remaining half pepper and add to the bowl, along with the onions.
Hold the corn, tip down, in the bowl, and using a sharp knife, cut straight down between the kernels and the cob, cutting as close to the cob as possible and rotating the ear about a quarter turn after each cut.
Stir all the ingredients in the bowl and then stir in the remaining cilantro. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store in the refrigerator, covered, for up to three days.
Courtesy of Georgeanne Brennan and Ann M. Evans, “Market Memories Cookbook” (Elderflower Press, $35)
