This week’s recipe is not what I expected to contribute to the newspaper right now. I went to a lovely restaurant a couple of weeks ago and drafted a glowing article about it. Unfortunately, my laptop died a few hours after I wrote that draft.
When my expensive new laptop arrives, I hope I will be able to retrieve that piece and submit it for next week.
Meanwhile, for this week, I’m relying on one of my frequent processes for creating recipes: adaptation.
A few weeks ago, I saw a recipe for a spinach and corn dip in “The New York Times.” I liked the idea of combining those two vegetables; the green in the spinach would add both color and nutrition to the pale, starchy corn. I wasn’t crazy about all of the other flavors in the dip, however.
The recipe called for basil leaves. I’m sure the leaves would work well with corn and spinach in the summer months when basil is profuse. In fact, I frequently pair basil and corn in August and September.
However, with snow on the ground, I was out of basil, and in the mood for a different flavor profile. I decided to throw in elements from two other recipes.
My dear friend Pam Gerry’s Spinach and Artichoke Dip is a rich, bubbly bowl of fall goodness. I thought I would employ some of her ingredients and techniques.
I also wanted to add some of the flavors of elote (Mexican street corn), a tasty seasonal celebration of corn with lime, cheese, mayonnaise and chili powder.
I knew that I was running a risk by combining elements from three quite different recipes. When a cook impulsively throws myriad ingredients into a dish, she occasionally overdoes the process.
Mixing flavors is like mixing paint colors. Sometimes adding one more element to a new color makes it pop. Sometimes it makes the color turn brown and depressing.
Likewise, instead of a pleasing combination of distinctive flavors, the cook who overdoes improvisation can end up with the equivalent of mud for the palate, something very confusing and blah.
Nevertheless, my many years in the kitchen — and no, I won’t tell you how many years exactly! — gave me a hunch that my combination would work and was certainly worth trying.
I ended up using frozen corn and frozen spinach for convenience … and also because in heated dishes like this dip frozen foods work very well.
I tend to avoid the allegedly fresh corn in grocery stores at this time of year. To me, fresh corn (like fresh tomatoes) should be consumed only when it is in season and I can eat it within a day of its harvest.
The ears of corn we see in grocery stores in December have traveled for quite a while and probably sat on the store shelf quite a while as well.
Frozen corn may not have all the taste of local summer corn, but because it is frozen while extremely fresh it does retain quite a bit of its flavor and most of its nutrients.
Spinach lasts a lot longer on grocery-store shelves than corn, but I used the frozen version here because it saved me the step of sautéing and breaking up the spinach.
Happily, my experiment turned out well … a happy occurrence since I created the dip after my usual deadline. Neither my editor nor I was prepared for a third attempt at this week’s column.
The dip is tasty and colorful. Its hints of spice cheer up the palate at this dark time of year.
It’s also ideal for holiday entertaining. It doesn’t take a lot of time to prepare, although one does have to give the vegetables time to defrost and the cream cheese time to come to room temperature.
Best of all, one can prepare the ingredients in advance and assemble them shortly before baking and serving.
Spinach and Corn Dip
Ingredients:
a little butter and/or olive oil for sautéing
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed
1 pinch salt
1 8-ounce brick cream cheese at room temperature
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika plus a small amount later
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese plus 1/4 cup later
a handful of cilantro leaves (optional; use only if you have fresh cilantro!)
8 ounces frozen spinach, defrosted and pressed to get rid of excess liquid
(I placed it in a colander and then pressed it first with my hand and then with a spoon.)
2 cups defrosted corn kernels
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Place the butter and/ or oil in a sauté pan, and heat it for a couple of minutes. Add the onion and garlic and sauté them until they are soft and start to turn golden. Add the pinch of salt.
In an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, the lime juice and the mayonnaise. (I used my balloon whisk, but use whatever you have.) Stir in the spices, the cilantro (if you are using it) and the 3/4 cup of Parmesan.
Finally, stir in the spinach and the corn, mixing thoroughly.
Taste the mixture to see whether you need to adjust any spices. My version was delicious without additions (the cheese made up for the low salt content), but everyone’s palate is different.
Gently spoon the mixture into a 1-1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese and the bread crumbs over all. Top with a little more paprika for color.
Serve with vegetables, tortilla chips or pita chips. Serves 8 as an appetizer.
Tinky Weisblat is an award-winning cookbook author and singer known as the Diva of Deliciousness. Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.
