Lend us your ears: ‘Tis the season for sweet corn

Chef Andrew Zimmerman shares recipes that incorporate cod, bacon and cheese

Video: Showcase summer corn with a flavorful chowder

Closed captioning of: Showcase summer corn with a flavorful chowder

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>> summer corn on the menu. the restaurant in chicago, the chef is here. he's going to show us how to make a pan roasted cod. he's suddenly wishing he wasn't here. andrew, good to see you.

>> nice to see you, too.

>> this is the time of year. summer corn is wonderful.

>> it is. later in the year we get tomatoes, the beginning of the year we get corn. it's one of the things we look forward to cooking. this kooip time of year it will be at its best.

>> we'll make a stock. starting things off, corn off the cob .

>> we bought the cob, came with the corn. try to make a stock with that so we have a good base for chowder. simple leeks, carrots, onions, all the things you'd find in a stock, simmer it 30 minutes until it tastes of corn. we have some bacon .

>> very nice.

>> i thought you'd like that.

>> how much bacon .

>> as much as you really want. in this case it was maybe about maybe a quarter pound of bacon before it was rendered.

>> the flavor base.

>> start the flavor base. we take the bacon out. we have some of the same vegetables we started off with. celery, onions, carrots and leeks. we'll get those sauteing in the bacon fat .

>> why would you waste that bacon fat .

>> exactly. put those in. take sweet corn as well, pop that in. now you'd want to let this satay probably a good three to five minutes. let it start to soften up. be a good idea to hit it with a little salt and pepper . would you mind getting that. okay. and we'll throw in a little sprig of thyme and then we're going to add corn stock.

>> okay.

>> it's good to get the corn stock in fairly early and let it simmer because it will reduce. it's going to bring out a lot of sweetness of the corn and give it a good backbone of flavor. add in potatoes, i like to put in pearl onions because they have more visual impact.

>> bacon back in.

>> back at the end only because we want to keep the crisp texture. we put it in now, it will be soggy.

>> don't want that. how long will we cook this?

>> ten minutes until the potatoes are tender. some cream. a cross between manhattan light-style chowder versus creamy new england style.

>> nice.

>> won't be nearly as you'd expect a new england chowder to be.

>> once you put that in, how long would you cook.

>> this and cook another five minutes. at this point add clams. we'll add clams. they will steam open in the broth and give it another layer of flavor.

>> back here.

>> this the cod.

>> could you do it with a different fish you wanted to.

>> any kind. i would go with whitefish. we're doing chowder so cod is a natural.

>> pan saute.

>> yes. if you can get your hands on some nice striped bass would be a great option or you could do it with red snapper or any other whitefish. parsley, bacon back in. you want probably all of it.

>> in fact, hold on a second.

>> great.

>> the more the merrier. i also find this takes a lot of black pepper really well. so be pretty generous with that.

>> and it ends up looking something like this.

>> ends up looking something like that.

>> that is fantastic.

>> we brought along another corn option for you. this simply grilled corn.

>> kind of like mexican corn.

>> like mexican street corn. we did it with sweet instead of field corn . bacon thyme butter, asiago cheese .

>> you're my hero. still ahead,

Show transcript

TODAY recipes

updated 6/21/2012 4:08:00 PM ET

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Good news! Sweet-corn season is upon us! Here, Andrew Zimmerman, executive chef at Sepia restaurant in Chicago, shares recipes that combine sweet corn with cod, bacon and cheese.

Recipe: Pan roasted cod with sweet corn chowder (on this page) Recipe: Grilled sweet corn with bacon-thyme butter and asiago (on this page)

Recipe: Pan roasted cod with sweet corn chowder

Executive Chef Andrew Zimmerman, Sepia, Chicago

Ingredients

8 ears sweet corn, shucked
2 leeks, white part only, diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
3 stalks celery, peeled and diced
1 medium onions, peeled and diced
1 1/2 lbs young potatoes (fingerling, German butterball), cut up
16 peeled pearl onions
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup chopped parsley
3 oz slab bacon, cut into 1”x 1/4“x 1/4” rectangles (lardons)
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 cups heavy cream, reduced to 1 cup
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
4 each 5-ounce hand line-caught cod filets, skin on (or sub red snapper, wild striped bass, skin-off halibut, or skin-off flounder)
12 littleneck clams, scrubbed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

First, cut the kernels off the corn cobs. Reserve 2/3 of the corn kernels for garnishing the soup.

In an 8-quart stock pot combine the remaining 1/3 of kernels with 10 of the corn cobs, half of the diced leek, and half of the celery, carrots and onions, as well as 2 sprigs of thyme and the bay leaf. Cover with water by about 2 inches and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Strain the corn stock and discard the solids.

Wash out the stock pot and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Over medium heat add the bacon and cook until rendered and lightly golden brown. Remove the bacon and drain on a paper towel. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat/olive oil mixture and add the reserved leeks, onions, carrots, celery and corn kernels. Add a pinch of salt and sweat until the vegetables are just beginning to get tender. Add the corn stock and the remaining thyme. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes, pearl onions, and cream. Simmer until the potatoes are tender. Add the clams and continue to cook just until the clams open. Add the chopped parsley and the reserved bacon and taste. Add salt and pepper as needed.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Season the cod with salt and pepper.

Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and put the cod filets skin side down in the pan. Cook the cod 2/3 of the way on the skin side (you want to create a good golden crust on the skin). Flip the fish over and finish cooking (total cook time is about 8 minutes). The fish should be just cooked through.

To plate the dish, put down a base of the chowder vegetables. Add some of the chowder broth and top with a cod filet, plated skin side up.

Serving Size

Yield: 4 portions.

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Recipe: Grilled sweet corn with bacon-thyme butter and asiago

Executive Chef Andrew Zimmerman, Sepia, Chicago

Ingredients

For the corn:
8-12 ears fresh sweet corn, husk pulled back, silk removed and husk returned to its original position
1 recipe bacon-thyme butter (Recipe follows)
1/2 cup finely grated asiago cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the bacon-thyme butter:
1 pound softened butter, cubed
4 ounces uncooked bacon, very fine dice (it helps to partially freeze the bacon before cutting it)
2 tsp fresh minced thyme
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, finely ground
Zest of half a lemon, minced

Preparation

Render bacon slowly, reserving all of the fat, and cool. Combine butter, rendered bacon, bacon fat, and all other ingredients in stand mixer with paddle attachment. Mix until well incorporated. Turn out onto plastic wrap, roll up and chill.

For the grilled sweet corn:
Light a charcoal or gas grill (if using charcoal, first you’re awesome, second let the coals burn down until they are really hot and white with ash). Soak the corn, still in the husk, for about one hour before grilling.

Put the soaked corn on the grill and cook, turning the corn every 3 minutes or so for about 9-10 minutes or until the corn is lightly charred under the husk and hot all the way through.

Peel back the husks (leave them on if you like the look or remove them if you don’t) and slather on the bacon butter. Sprinkle on the grated cheese and season with the salt and black pepper.

Get your napkins ready — these are messy!