May 22, 2010

Santa Fe Corn Pie (or, it took me long enough)

I found this recipe whilst surfing around the internet, as one does. I had bookmarked it, and then copy-pasted it into a document of Things I Want to Make, where it languished for about a year until I finally, randomly decided that it was about time. As I set about marshalling my shopping list to make sure I had all necessary components, I noticed that the credited author, Diane Clement, is local to me - a fellow Vancouverite, whose Tomato Fresh Food Cafe I have visited in the past, and whose cookbook "At The Tomato" is on my bookshelf, where it has been for a number of years.
When I got home, I cracked open the cookbook and discovered that the very same recipe had been waiting for me, at home, all this time.

It was delicious. And easy! It's a sort of quiche-y affair, and sort of a cornbread-y thing, and not quite a spoonbread. I will be making this again and again - for brunch, for lunch, for dinner, and maybe even for some kind of snack. It was easy, too - no fussing with pastry (which I enjoy, but don't always have the patience for at blink-o'clock in the morning. I suspect it is a useful make-ahead, where you leave it unbaked in the fridge the night before, and then simply pop it into the oven in the morning. In fact, I think I'll try that next.

The only significant addition that I made to this recipe was to sprinkle some smoked paprika over the top as a finisher. It gave a lovely smokey highlight to the dish without taking over the lovely corn-forward flavour. I also omitted the melted butter from the original recipe.

Santa Fe Corn Pie
(adapted from Diane Clement's At The Tomato)

3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup creamed corn
1 1/4 cups frozen corn – thawed by running it under hot water (in a strainer)
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup sour cream
1 cup Monterey jack cheese grated
5 canned mild green chiles, chopped
1/4 teaspoon worchestershire sauce
few shots Tabasco sauce
3 tablespoons green onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon pimenton (smoked paprika)

Spritz a 10" pie plate with canola spray.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and stir with a big mixing spoon until thoroughly combined.  Pour into the pie plate and bake, uncovered, at 350 F for about 45 – 50 minutes or until golden and firm in the middle. 

She notes that the pie may be baked ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days. I did take my leftovers to work for lunch the following day, and it warmed up beautifully in the microwave. Alongside a big green salad, it was a light, yet filling work lunch.


7 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

This corn pie looks really scrumptious!

Cheers,

Rosa

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed reading your post. I used to eat at Tomato, when they were still at the old location (and lived nearby), but I don't recall this dish, though I, too, have the cookbook. Try their banana bread, if you haven't yet! Thanks.

Dawna said...

Thanks, Rosa - it is! I'm going to make it again, and soon.

Islandeat, thanks for stopping by. I have made the banana bread from the cookbook - it's really good, but I have a first edition of the cookbook (1995), which, due to a editing error, doesn't list the amount of butter in the recipe. I had to phone the restaurant to get the right amount! There's a sticky-note in the book to tell me that it should be 1/2 cup. It was corrected by the second edition. It makes a small loaf, but a good one. Very tender, very banana-y.

kickpleat said...

It sounds really good. I haven't been to the Tomato since they moved but only have had their breakfasts. I like the addition of smoked paprika.

Dawna said...

I haven't been to the Kits location yet, either, kickpleat - it moved west just after we moved east! Our friends that still live in Kits, though, love the new location. I need to get out there for brunch one of these days...

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this. I have the book, but it's lost in moving boxes at the moment and I really wanted to make this pie. I also loved the bread pudding recipe. I lived about a block from Tomato when it was extant, and someone gave me the recipe book when I moved out of province nearly 20 years ago now.

Anonymous said...

My mother used to make this in the 80's I believe and I still make it very often. I love how quickly it goes together and how yummy it always tastes. Thanks for posting the recipe, somehow in my many moves I had misplaced it. :)