A hint of summer

Last Friday I was in the mood for another new supper option. In my freezer I had a container of blanched summer corn and in my refrigerator, the container of the blanching water from cooking the corn last summer. Periodically I checked the water over the winter to make sure it didn’t acquire an off smell or taste. I felt confident it was safe as it was boiled for blanching the corn.  It was still good, so I proceeded with my idea of making a corn risotto. I found the recipe in the New York Times.

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To the corn blanching water, you had to add onion quarters, a carrot, a rib of celery, dark leaves from one leek, 2 whole garlic cloves, a teaspoon of salt and black peppercorns. I placed the garlic cloves and the peppercorns in a tea infuser. This vegetable stock now became the cooking liquid for the rice.

The risotto had one sautéed leek, a bit of wine added at the beginning of cooking the rice, and of course, 1-1/2 cups of corn (approximately from 2 ears). When half of the cooking stock was incorporated into the rice, this is when the corn is added to the risotto. 
A bit of summer was in our kitchen as we devoured this delicious corn risotto. The risotto had the sweet taste of summertime corn. This was another supper that my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed. I may be able to squeeze out one more meal out of the remaining frozen corn. 

When summer comes around, hold on to some of your corn water. It takes only about 45 minutes to prepare the vegetables and combine with the corn water to make the risotto stock. The risotto takes approximately 30 to 40 minutes to make. It’s a two pot meal. If you like, I’m sure you could probably add some fresh shrimp at the end or some cooked lobster chucks to take this risotto over the top.