Skillet Corn, Edamame, and Tomatoes with Basil Oil

Martha Stewart Living (August 2012)

Martha had us at basil oil.

We're honestly not sure we would have made this if it had been called "Skillet Corn, Edamame, and Tomatoes with Basil," just because it sounds like a dish we've already made a hundred times. But add "basil oil" to the title, and we were totally on board. 

Essentially, this is a succotash, even though it's not called that. And Lord knows we love a succotash. (Would a succotash by any other name still taste as amazing? YES.)

But the basil oil intrigued us. We almost always throw a handful of chopped basil into a corn succotash -- the flavors are perfect together. But the idea of infusing oil with basil, and then using that as a dressing, made us really eager to try this dish.

Well, we did have one big takeaway from this recipe. But it wasn't the basil oil.

Making the basil oil actually involves a few steps we don't quite understand. Why blanch the basil and chill it in ice water before drying it and puréeing it with oil? Is it just to amp up the green color and keep the basil from turning black? Does it concentrate the flavor? (Does it diminish it?) Maybe? A little? It's not complicated, obviously; we just didn't get the need for those steps.

The rest is totally straightforward: Sauté your aromatics, sauté your corn, sauté your tomatoes. Wham, bam, thank you, succotash.

But here's the thing that surprised us: vinegar. White balsamic vinegar, to be precise. We've never thought about putting vinegar in a succotash. (In fact, we probably don't use vinegar nearly as much as we should.)

The flavor is phenomenal! The vinegar gives a wonderful acidity to the dish, pulling it back from the sweet caramelized corn and tomatoes. It is marvelous, and we'll never cook a succotash-ish dish again without pouring in a couple glugs of vinegar.

(The basil oil? Eh, it was fine. Delicious, actually. But we didn't think there was anything about a puréed basil oil that was different from simply adding some chopped basil in the last couple minutes of sautéing.) 

Nevertheless, you should definitely try this succotash! Come for the basil oil! Stay for the vinegar!

 

 

Skillet Corn, Edamame, and Tomatoes with Basil Oil
Martha Stewart Living (August 2012)
Subscribe to Martha Stewart Living

(This photo: Martha Stewart Living)

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt, divided
1/4 cup finely sliced scallions (from 4 scallions)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic (from 3 small garlic cloves)
3 1/4 cups corn kernels (from 4 or 5 ears)
2/3 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
1/2 pound cherry tomatoes, halved (1 3/4 cups)
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

Directions

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add basil; cook 10 seconds. Transfer basil to a bowl of ice water, then drain, and squeeze dry. Puree basil, 1/4 cup oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Heat remaining oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallions and garlic; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add corn, edamame, and remaining salt. Cook, stirring, until starting to caramelize, about 10 minutes (reduce heat to medium if overbrowning). Add tomatoes and vinegar; cook until tomatoes start to collapse, about 8 minutes.

Drizzle basil oil on vegetables, and stir. Serve immediately.