CORN SALSA
We served this on the tables at GUS for years. People would come in, sit down, take a thick slice of bread, butter it, and top it with spoons of salsa (I did it myself, too often, as I waited for the first tables to arrive). I never wanted to charge for it, but for many it was their first course of the night.
During the pandemic, such things were not allowed on the tables. And after, I realized I could not afford the labour and lost sales. But I know people miss it.
So, as my therapist always suggests, here is the middle ground:
2 medium onions, diced
2 tbsp coarse salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
5 jalapeño peppers (or ‘Cherry Bombs’), seeded and finely diced
400 ml rice wine vinegar
1 cup sugar
3 litres grilled corn kernels (approx. 16 ears)
1.2 litres water
Remove corn husks from cob, blanch for 5 minutes, then lightly oil and grill. Once cooled, remove the kernels with a knife. (Keep the cobs for a corn stock if you wish, we use it for soups and cooking mussels. Just place the cobs in cold water bring to a boil and simmer for a couple of hours. Really great stuff; sells for $5 a litre at the underground food market).
Sweat onions in vegetable oil with salt on low heat until translucent.
Add diced jalapeños and sugar. Cook and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar begins to dissolve, three minutes max. Add vinegar, grilled corn kernels, and water. Bring to a boil, cook for about twenty minutes.
Notes: there is a lot of approximation in this recipe. The water should only cover the corn, not have the corn floating like a soup. The sugar and heat from the Jalapeños can be adjusted as well.
The original recipe I made was with ‘Cherry Bomb’ chilis. They are easy to find at the end of the summer at the Jean-Talon Market. It makes the salsa beautiful – Christmas-like. Jalapeños are a good substitute.
You can preserve it in mason jars.
Makes approximately 5 litres of corn salsa.