as i write this, i'm supposed to be packing. i'm going back to school tomorrow.
this is the face of packing:
my room is a riot of clothing, books, cooking utensils, with different piles representing my recent geographic locations. i have the massive pile of stuff from my moveout (evacuation might be more accurate) from the new york apartment yesterday, complete with a separate sub-pile of stuff i rescued from my work cubicle. i have a pile of connecticut stuff that stays here, a separate pile that needs to be shipped to portland. accordingly, i have a pile of stuff from portland that needs to go back to portland. i also have a massive series of boxes from my house in indiana that have been hiding in the connecticut attic for the past year, needing to be sorted into two piles: stuff to leave, and stuff to take.
and here i sit in a wig, ready to talk about corn again.
a while back i discovered the now-defunct laylita's recipes through the traveler's lunch box and have been returning to it again and again ever since. i modified her ceviche recipe to spectacular results, so i decided to try something slightly less familiar.
humitas, from what i understand, don't really have a direct english translation or equivalent. they're corn cakes, yes, but they're unleavened, and instead of being baked or fried they're steamed, so the consistency is completely different from corn bread or corn pancakes: softer, more yielding, almost like a somewhat more toothsome polenta. what i really love is that their preparation involves using all the parts of the corn cob--i can make no claims to a successful kitchen application of the native american "use every part of the deer" mantra, but i can totally get behind anything that involves making cute little packages out of corn husks tied up with husk strings. so you steam the cakes in the husks, and what's more, if you don't have a steamer (which i don't because i'm in college!!!) then you line the bottom of your pot with the corn cobs to prevent the humitas from touching the boiling water, thus creating your own steamer. if that's not precious, i just don't know what is.
and while mine did not win any beauty contests, they were delicious. we ate them alongside an endive salad as a prelude to an insane lobster salad, followed by sliced canteloupe with homegrown basil, and i will personally vouch that a better summer meal is hard to find. in fact, i will go as far as to tell you that despite having a very similar ingredient list, these were significantly better than mark bittman's arepas which i topped with tomato peach salsa (disappointing):
be forewarned that this makes a ton of humitas. i probably used a little less than 2/3 of the batter and got 7 largeish cakes. i saved the rest with the noble intent of frying it into pancakes and topping them with avocado for breakfast, but then totally forgot and it languished in the fridge, forgotten forever ("use all the parts of the deer" my ass). anyway, you might cut the recipe in half if you're not feeding a small army.
ecuadorian humitas
adapted from laylita's recipes
to help make the corn husks more pliable, place them in a pot of boiling water for a couple of minutes, then drain the water and save the husks until ready to use.
remove the silky hairs from the corn and use a knife to cut the corn kernels from the cob (i recommend doing this in a large, flat-bottomed bowl, as kernels will inevitably go everywhere if you try it on a cutting board). if you don’t have a steamer, save the cobs.
place the corn kernels, 1 cup of cheese, diced onions, crushed garlic, ground coriander, corn meal, cream, eggs, salt and red pepper flakes in the food processor (i used a blender which worked fine) and mix until the corn is pureed to your liking--i wanted some whole corn kernels, so i left it slightly chunkier and then gave it a good stir with a spatula.
in large deep pot place about 2 ½ cups of water and a steamer, with the water just below the steamer. if you don’t have a steamer, arrange the cobs on the bottom of the pan instead and cover them with some of the leftover husks.
to fill each humita, place 2 of the large corn husks on top of each other. fold the left side of the husks, then fold the top half over the bottom half to create a semi-pocket. fill it with a spoonful of the mixture (how much mixture will depend on the size of the husks, the larger the husks the more filling you can add) and stuff some of the remaining cheese in the middle. now fold over the right side of the husk and tighten it up a little bit. use the thin strips to tie around the wrapper and keep it closed.
place the humitas in the pot on top of the steamer. laylita suggests keeping them slightly inclined with the open end on top. place any leftover husks on top and cover well.
place the pot on the stove over high heat until you hear the water boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 35-40 minutes, the cooked humitas will be slightly firm to firm when they are done.
serve warm with aji de tomate de arbol or tree tomato hot sauce.
this is the face of packing:
my room is a riot of clothing, books, cooking utensils, with different piles representing my recent geographic locations. i have the massive pile of stuff from my moveout (evacuation might be more accurate) from the new york apartment yesterday, complete with a separate sub-pile of stuff i rescued from my work cubicle. i have a pile of connecticut stuff that stays here, a separate pile that needs to be shipped to portland. accordingly, i have a pile of stuff from portland that needs to go back to portland. i also have a massive series of boxes from my house in indiana that have been hiding in the connecticut attic for the past year, needing to be sorted into two piles: stuff to leave, and stuff to take.and here i sit in a wig, ready to talk about corn again.
a while back i discovered the now-defunct laylita's recipes through the traveler's lunch box and have been returning to it again and again ever since. i modified her ceviche recipe to spectacular results, so i decided to try something slightly less familiar.
humitas, from what i understand, don't really have a direct english translation or equivalent. they're corn cakes, yes, but they're unleavened, and instead of being baked or fried they're steamed, so the consistency is completely different from corn bread or corn pancakes: softer, more yielding, almost like a somewhat more toothsome polenta. what i really love is that their preparation involves using all the parts of the corn cob--i can make no claims to a successful kitchen application of the native american "use every part of the deer" mantra, but i can totally get behind anything that involves making cute little packages out of corn husks tied up with husk strings. so you steam the cakes in the husks, and what's more, if you don't have a steamer (which i don't because i'm in college!!!) then you line the bottom of your pot with the corn cobs to prevent the humitas from touching the boiling water, thus creating your own steamer. if that's not precious, i just don't know what is.
and while mine did not win any beauty contests, they were delicious. we ate them alongside an endive salad as a prelude to an insane lobster salad, followed by sliced canteloupe with homegrown basil, and i will personally vouch that a better summer meal is hard to find. in fact, i will go as far as to tell you that despite having a very similar ingredient list, these were significantly better than mark bittman's arepas which i topped with tomato peach salsa (disappointing):
be forewarned that this makes a ton of humitas. i probably used a little less than 2/3 of the batter and got 7 largeish cakes. i saved the rest with the noble intent of frying it into pancakes and topping them with avocado for breakfast, but then totally forgot and it languished in the fridge, forgotten forever ("use all the parts of the deer" my ass). anyway, you might cut the recipe in half if you're not feeding a small army.ecuadorian humitas
adapted from laylita's recipes
- 6-7 fresh ears of corn, with husks
- 2 cups grated or crumbled cheese: mozzarella, queso fresco, cotija or a fresh farmers cheese
- 1 cup diced white onions, about ½ large onion
- 1 tsp ground coriander (i omitted this)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- about 1 cup corn meal
- ¼ cup of heavy cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- crushed red pepper flakes (my addition, optional)
- aji de tomate de arbol, or tree tomato hot sauce, for serving (optional)
to help make the corn husks more pliable, place them in a pot of boiling water for a couple of minutes, then drain the water and save the husks until ready to use.
remove the silky hairs from the corn and use a knife to cut the corn kernels from the cob (i recommend doing this in a large, flat-bottomed bowl, as kernels will inevitably go everywhere if you try it on a cutting board). if you don’t have a steamer, save the cobs.
place the corn kernels, 1 cup of cheese, diced onions, crushed garlic, ground coriander, corn meal, cream, eggs, salt and red pepper flakes in the food processor (i used a blender which worked fine) and mix until the corn is pureed to your liking--i wanted some whole corn kernels, so i left it slightly chunkier and then gave it a good stir with a spatula.
in large deep pot place about 2 ½ cups of water and a steamer, with the water just below the steamer. if you don’t have a steamer, arrange the cobs on the bottom of the pan instead and cover them with some of the leftover husks.
to fill each humita, place 2 of the large corn husks on top of each other. fold the left side of the husks, then fold the top half over the bottom half to create a semi-pocket. fill it with a spoonful of the mixture (how much mixture will depend on the size of the husks, the larger the husks the more filling you can add) and stuff some of the remaining cheese in the middle. now fold over the right side of the husk and tighten it up a little bit. use the thin strips to tie around the wrapper and keep it closed.
place the humitas in the pot on top of the steamer. laylita suggests keeping them slightly inclined with the open end on top. place any leftover husks on top and cover well.
place the pot on the stove over high heat until you hear the water boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 35-40 minutes, the cooked humitas will be slightly firm to firm when they are done.
serve warm with aji de tomate de arbol or tree tomato hot sauce.
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