Long live the Queen

The Queen is dead, long live the Queen! The Golden Queen, that is. Garden-fresh corn  is a thing of the past until next summer except my brother-in-law just stopped in to say he has a last batch of  Silver Queen “coming on.”  That’s Southern for getting ripe, ready to pull, booyah!

We’ve enjoyed GQ on the cob, in a souffle, a stir-fry with chicken sausage and taco seasoning, and an impromtu succotash with green beans (although I was raised with a lima bean-corn mixture). Also this simple corn quiche with crispy tortilla crust from the Mennonite cookbook Simply in Season (expanded edition by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert, Herald Press, 2009).

Note that for the crust, flour tortillas will hold together better; corn tortillas, have more flavor.

Corn quiche with tortilla crust

3  6-inch corn tortillas

1/2 onion or 2 shallots, chopped (1 shallot was plenty for us)

1/2 green pepper, seeded and chopped

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup milk (I used skim)

1 cup cottage cheese

3 beaten eggs

2 cups corn (about 8 ears if you’re using fresh)

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/4 cup fresh cilantro or parsley, minced

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Place one tortilla in middle of 9-inch pie pan. Cut remaining tortillas in half and overlap to mostly cover pan sides. Set aside.

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

In small skillet saute onion (or shallot) and pepper in oil until soft and translucent. Transfer to bowl and add milk, cottage cheese and eggs. Stir in corn, Jack cheese, parsley or cilantro, chili powder, cumin, S&P. Mix well and pour into tortilla-lined pan.

Bake at 425 for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes (mine needed 45). Serves 4 hungry people.

If you’re taking to family reunion or church potluck, you can double (use 8 tortillas) and bake in 9- x 13-inch pan, increasing bake time to 50 to 60 minutes.

Serve this with sliced tomatoes and a fresh peach dessert, and you’ll want the summer heat wave to go on forever. But fall is coming. I know because I shared the road with silage trucks on Thursday. As soon as they start running, we can start thinking about sweaters, long trail rides, turning leaves and foggy mornings. Booyah, indeed!