Fresh Corn Polenta 新鮮コーン入りポレンタ

We thought we must have posted our polenta recipe a long time ago but we have not. We just mentioned it in passing. Since it is still local corn season, my wife decided to make polenta with fresh corn kernels. This is perfect for breakfast but we also had this as our ending "shime" dish one evening. We served it with a fried (pasteurized) egg. As you can see, the one in the picture is a bit overcooked the egg (you should have runny yolk with polenta or scrapple).

This is a picture of the polenta just before frying. You can see the fresh corn kernels.

Ingredients:
1 cup corn meal
3 cups of corn cob broth (#3)
1 tbs butter
3 tbs sugar
1/2 sp salt
1 cup corn kernels (ears of corn microwaved for 4 minutes, covered with paper towel, kernels removed) (#1 and 2).

Direction:
1. If you try to remove the corn from the cob on a cutting bored, the kernels go all over the place. I placed a Pyrex ramekin upside down in a metal bowl and put the ear of corn on top of the ramekin. I then cut off the kernels using a knife (from top to bottom). The kernels are captured in the bowl (#1 and 2).
2. For making the corn cob broth, put 4 cups of water in a pan and add 6 corn cobs after the kernels have been removed. Also add coarsely chopped one medium onion and boil gently for 1 hour (#3). if you want stronger broth after straining the liquid it can be further reduced.
3. Pour the corn cob broth into a pan. Add the butter, sugar and salt and let it come to a boil. Add the corn meal in a steady stream while vigorously whisking to prevent lumps from forming (#4).
4. As the mixture gets thicker switch the whisk to a wooden (bamboo) spatula and continue stirring (this is where I help my wife since stirring polenta is hard work). Keep cooking and stirring until the polenta starts coming off the side of the pan. Add the corn kernels and mix. (#5).
5. Place the polenta in a loaf pan which has been rinsed with cold water (not oiled) (the residual water on the pan allows the cooled polenta to drop out when the pan is inverted . Make sure there are no air bubbles trapped. Smooth the surface (#6).
6. Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight after cooled to the room temperature.
7. Just before serving, slice the polenta into 1/2 inch thick pieces (#7).
8. Dredge with flour and pan fry using peanut oil turning once until both sides develop a nice brown crust (#8).

We have not had polenta for some time and this tasted really good. Using the corn cob broth and fresh corn kernels really added a nice fresh intense corn taste. The kernels provided a sweet burst of flavor and a nice crunch element to the texture. Our only regret was that the eggs were overcooked.