It’s hard to decide whether this Cream-Style Corn or A Vat of Tomato Sauce is my favorite Base recipe. Perhaps Tomato Sauce eeks out a win, but Cream-Style Corn is certainly my new favorite.
Cream-Style Corn Jumpstarters
Who would ever think you could make such dramatically different recipes—a pasta, a chowder, and savory cakes—from one Base? Perhaps it’s obvious that Creamy Corn Chowder could stem from Cream-Style Corn. But we’re not sure we would have envisioned that with just three additional ingredients—sundried tomatoes, fresh basil, and pasta—that Cream-Style Corn would morph into Creamy Corn Rigata. And we would have never suspected that just by adding cornmeal, flour, and basil to the base, you’d get Quick Corn Cakes. And yet, like siblings, these three very different dishes are all born of the same Base.
Fresh or Frozen Corn
Late summer when corn is plentiful, you’ll want to make it with fresh corn. Other times of the year, frozen corn makes an amazingly good, incredibly quick Cream-Style Corn. The recipe is easy too. Just heat a little oil or plant-based butter in a large pot and add sliced scallions and diced roasted red peppers, which add both color and flavor. In just a couple of minutes, it’s time for the flour which ultimately thickens the creamy coconut milk that immediately follows. The corn is next. After that, there’s just one more ingredient—nutritional yeast—which adds nuttiness and depth of flavor. Once all of this comes to a simmer, you’re ready to make one of the Jumpstart recipes.
If you need to make a dish as soon as the Cream-Style Corn is done, Creamy Corn Rigata is your recipe. Bring a large pot of water to boil the pasta while the corn is cooking. Once the creamed corn is done, pull off half, flavor it with sundried tomatoes and basil, and toss it with the pasta.
When you make Cream-Style Corn, you get tonight’s dinner with enough to make a completely different meal a night or two down the road. What a smart way to cook.
Utterly creamy and totally Planetarian, this Base (which comes together in about five minutes if using frozen), stands on its own as a delicious bowl of creamed corn or gives you a jumpstart on several delicious meals. From the Base you can make a nearly instant Simple Corn Chowder, Creamy Corn Pasta, or Quick Corn Cakes, which all make dinner for four to six.
Cream-Style Corn
Recipe Notes
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil or plant-based butter
- 2 bunches scallions, white and light greens thinly sliced, dark greens saved for bonus recipes
- 1 large jarred roasted red pepper, about 1 cup, cut into small dice
- 6 tablespoons each: flour and nutritional yeast
- 2 cans (13.5 oz each) full-fat coconut milk
- 8 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels*
- Salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add scallions and roasted red peppers; sauté until tender, a couple of minutes. Stir in flour and cook until evenly distributed. Whisk in coconut milk, followed by nutritional yeast and corn; bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer to thicken and blend flavors and, if using fresh corn, until the kernels turn from a raw to cooked look, a couple of minutes. If serving as a side dish, see note above, or continue with one of the Jumpstart Recipes. (Can be covered and refrigerated up to a week or frozen for several months.)
