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1
Cut the kernels from the ears of corn until you have 4 or 5 cups (see below).
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2
Shell all the lima beans.
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3
You should get at least a quart of shelled beans from 4 pounds of beans in the shell.
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4
Rinse the shelled limas, getting rid of any bits of the pods, and drain them well.
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5
Put the olive oil in the skillet, toss in the garlic slices, and cook them over medium-high heat for just a minute.
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6
Dump all the limas from the bowl into the pankeep your face away, as there will be a lot of sizzling when the damp beans hit the oil.
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7
Immediately cover the pan, give it a good shake, and turn down the heat to medium-low.
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8
Cook the limas, covered, and shake the pan frequently.
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9
Uncover it every 3 minutes or so and quickly check that the beans are sizzling and softening but not burning.
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10
After 10 minutes, sprinkle over beans the salt and peperoncino; cover and cook for another minute.
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11
Then add the corn kernels and stir them into the beans.
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12
Cook, covered, another 5 minutes, then add 1/2 cup of water to the pan and cover again.
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13
Cook another 8 to 10 minutes, until the beans and the kernels are tender to the bite but not mushy, and have caramelized lightly on the edges.
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14
Serve the corn and limas right away, straight from the pan or piled on a platter covered with a thin layer of Basil Onion Sauce.
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15
Scoop up some of the sauce with each serving spoonful.
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16
Reserve 5 or 6 bright-green basil leaves (about 2 tablespoons) and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
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17
Put the remainder of the basil in a small saucepan with all the other ingredients (including the remaining tablespoon of olive oil).
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18
Bring the water to a boil, cover the pot, and boil gently for 15 to 20 minutes.
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19
Remove the cover and boil steadily another 20 minutes or longer, reducing the contents of the pot to 1 cupabout a quarter of the original volume.
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20
Lower the heat if necessary, as liquid evaporates, to avoid burning the sauce ingredients.
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21
When it is sufficiently concentrated, scrape everything from the pot into the bowl of a food processor and puree.
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22
Roughly chop the reserved basil leaves with a knife, then add the pieces to the food processor and puree until theyre incorporated.
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23
Finally, with the machine running, drizzle in the reserved 2 tablespoons of excellent olive oil, to form a light emulsion.
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24
Serve the sauce warm with cooked vegetables; reheat on the stove if it has cooled off.
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25
Store in the refrigerator.
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26
Brussels sprouts
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27
Boiled eggs
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28
Poached leeks
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29
Fresh tomatoes with mozzarella
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30
Poached zucchini
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31
Sweet corn on the cob is special, but for many dishes I want the fresh kernels only.
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32
Heres how I cut them from the cobquickly:
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33
With a big chefs knife, chop off an inch or two at the top and the bottom of the ear.
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34
This removes much of the silk and the stem and makes peeling the husk easy.
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35
Strip off the husks and remove any clinging silks.
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36
Now stand the ear on the cut flat bottom end, on a tray or inside a wide bowl, so the kernels dont fall all over the place.
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37
Slice down with the blade of the knife, close to the cob, going the full length of the cob and shaving off a band of kernels.
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38
Rotate the cob and slice off more kernels, turning and slicing until its clean shaven.
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39
You may get anywhere from 1/2 cup to nearly 2 cups of kernels from each ear, depending on the size of the corn and the maturity of the kernels.
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40
Corn cobs can add a lot of flavor to stocks, a soup base, or Simple Vegetable Broth (page 288).
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41
Save a few cobs when you make these summer corn dishes: wrap them airtight, freeze them, and drop them into the pot the next time you are making stock or soup.
