Skip to main content

Sweet Corn Poached in Summer Tomato Sauce

After many summers of preparing fresh tomato sauce—and boiling thousands of ears of sweet corn in water—it was only when I was working on the recipes for this book that I had a brainstorm: perhaps I could use the enormous potful of crushed plum tomatoes perking away on the stove to cook up the fresh sweet corn we were having for lunch. . . . Why not?

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    I shucked the corn and removed all the “silk,” rinsed the ears, and dropped four of them in the pot. I covered the saucepan so it quickly returned to a gentle boil, and cooked the ears for about 8 minutes, until the kernels were tender.

    Step 2

    Dripping with sauce, the corn looked beautiful and tasted great—and no one needed butter. In addition, the sauce in the pot gained extra sweetness.

    Step 3

    Try this whenever you make this summer tomato sauce. It’s easy to cook a half-dozen ears of corn when the large batch of tomatoes is cooking for the first time. Or you can reheat a quart or more of finished sauce and poach a couple of ears in it at a time.

From Lidia's Family table by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Copyright (c) 2004 by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Published by Knopf. Lidia Bastianich hosts the hugely popular PBS show, "Lidia's Italian-American kitchen" and owns restaurants in New York City, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh. Also the author of Lidia's Italian Table and Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, she lives in Douglaston, New York. Jay Jacob's journalism has appeared in many national magazines. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Read More
Using two entire lemons—pith, skin, and all—cranks up the citrus flavor in this classic dessert.
Keep this easy frittata recipe on hand for quick breakfasts, impressive brunches, and fridge clean-out meals.
This is the type of soup that, at first glance, might seem a little…unexciting. But you’re underestimating the power of mushrooms, which do the heavy lifting.
Like Greek lemon potatoes and gochujang chicken stir-fry.
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
Like fattoush salad and strawberry shortcake roll.
Caramelized onions, melty Gruyère, and a deeply savory broth deliver the kind of comfort that doesn’t need improving.
This chicken salad nails it—creamy, herby, and endlessly riffable.