Australia’s cooking scene and TV landscape has changed a lot since 2009 – the year Justine Schofield came to prominence on our screens as a contestant on Masterchef. It was the inaugural year for the reality cooking show, and Schofield came a respectable fourth.
The Sydneysider went on to have a flourishing career in food, hosting her own show on Network Ten, Everyday Gourmet (which continues today), as well as writing four cookbooks. The Slow Cook is her just-released latest, with 80 recipes – from pies to pot roasts, tagines, curries, soups and tacos – that all come with instructions for conventional stovetop or oven, as well as slow cookers. The book is in keeping with Schofield’s approach of cooking dishes that are affordable and crowd-pleasing, and aren’t too complex.
“The true appeal of slow-cooking is the one-pot concept, which means not only less washing up but also big-batch cooking and freezer-friendly meals,” she writes in the book. “Most of these recipes can be easily doubled so there will always be enough for leftovers to store in airtight containers in the freezer for three months.”
Schofield says she first had this creamed-corn dish, taken from The Slow Cook, in New York. “Of late I’ve been having this sexy side with barbequed seafood or just-grilled fish. You could transform your creamed corn into a chowder-like soup by simply upping the quantity of stock.”
One of the things we like about The Slow Cook is each recipe includes a “slow-cooker method”, where Schofield offers an alternative way of cooking the dish. She says follow steps one and two of the recipe below, then pour the onion mixture into the slow cooker. You then add the corn kernels.
“Coat the corn in the onion mixture and pour in the stock. Cover and cook on high for two-and-a-half to three hours or on low for four-and-a-half hours to five. Add the thickened cream to the corn mixture and cook, uncovered, on high for a further 20 minutes. Follow steps five, six and seven,” says Schofield.
Creamed corn with smoked butter
Serves 4–6
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes, or longer if you take the slow-cooker alternative (see above)
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
2cm piece of ginger, finely grated
Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
5 corn cobs or 700g frozen corn kernels
500ml (2 cups) chicken stock
80ml (1/3 cup) thickened cream
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 small handful of freshly grated parmesan, to serve (optional)
Smoked butter
150g unsalted butter
1 tbsp chopped chipotle in adobo sauce (including sauce) (alternatively, use 1 tsp smoked paprika)
Salt flakes
Method
Step one: Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat and add the onion, garlic, ginger and a pinch of salt. Saute for 8–10 minutes until the onion is softened with a little colour.
Step two: Peel the husks and silks away from the corn. Cut off the kernels, sliding the knife close to and along the corn cob.
Step three: Add the corn kernels to the dish and coat in the onion mixture before adding the stock. Turn the heat up and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook, partially covered with the lid, for 35–40 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated and the corn is tender.
Step four: Add the thickened cream to the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Step five: In the meantime, to make the smoked butter, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until foamy. Continue to cook for 1–3 minutes until the bubbles subside, the milk solids start to turn golden and there is a wonderful nutty aroma. Remove from the heat and add the chipotle in adobo (or paprika) and a pinch of salt.
Step six: Ladle one-third of the corn mixture into a blender and blend until smooth, then pour back into the pan. Alternatively, use a handheld blender and pulse five or six times to partially puree. Add the lime juice and a pinch of pepper and mix through.
Step seven: Place the creamed corn in a serving bowl and pour over the smoked butter. Serve with the lime zest and parmesan (if using).
This is a recipe extract from The Slow Cook by Justine Schofield, published by Plum, $39.99, photography by Rob Palmer. It’s available for purchase here.
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