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Corn & Tomatoes - August 2003
Chef / Owner Philip Mihalski
My father always refused to eat corn and tomatoes except during the few months of the summer when they were local. The corn had to be picked that day. Growing up, we lived in Bethlehem PA. In the area thereabouts were small farms that grew vegetables in the summer. Some had little road side stands that would operate for a few months of the year while produce was being harvested. Through the years there were several stands we would use.
One farmer we often bought from had only a small sign at the bottom of his drive way. We would go up to his front door, ring the doorbell and he, or his wife, would open the garage where they kept the recently picked produce. The corn was always just hours off the stalk and the tomatoes were bright red and bursting with flavor. Zucchini, peppers, and cucumbers similarly had been left to fully ripen and were recently picked.
Back home we would prepare these foods in the simplest ways. Corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes with salt, we didn’t see any need to get fancy when all we wanted was the pure flavors of summer.
So, given my childhood, it’s probably not surprising that my father’s idea of freshness and timeliness would stay with me when I became a chef.
At Nell’s, we do produce business with a gentleman named Merv Dykstra. I first met Merv about seven years ago when I was chef at Marco’s Supper Club in Belltown. At that time, he was supplying only a few Seattle restaurants with fresh produce. Nowadays, Merv’s days are a lot busier.
Once a week, beginning in April, he loads up his truck in Yakima with produce from local growers and hauls his goods across the Cascades into Seattle making 20 to 30 stops. Through the months he brings us spring English peas, Walla Walla onions, cherries, apricots, peaches, and now corn and heirloom tomatoes.
Because Merv gives us same day service, I know I’m getting the freshest of the fresh. His bounty has been the inspiration for many of our most popular dishes. Several that come readily to mind are: Tomato and Leek Terrine with Herb Salad and Black Olive Vinaigrette; Vine Ripe Tomato Salad with Grilled Octopus and Caper Vinaigrette; and Sweet Corn and Summer Truffle Risotto.
As a chef, I’m proud I can say “like father, like son.”
Foods We Love—A Brief History
Corn
Versatile corn, the edible ear, is a staple of New World diets and perhaps our single most important food. People in Central America began its cultivation as early at 3500 BC. Easy to grow and harvest, corn is, and has been, the culinary hub of many ancient and modern Native American cultures. Some authorities suggest corn's relatively low maintenance may have contributed to the impressive architecture of Meso-America by creating the free time necessary to build those giant stone temples of the Aztecs and Mayas. Carried to Europe by Columbus's ships, corn was quickly embraced by the countries of southern Europe. There are five varieties of corn, sweet corn being the delicious one. Beyond its fame as food, the corn plant is used to create many products common to everyday life including paint, soap, paper, and down-home Southern whiskey.
Tomatoes
Originating in the Andes Mountains, later to be domesticated in Mexico, the tomato arrived in Europe in 1523, one of the unsung fruits of the Spanish Conquest. Known as "Love Apples" in 16th century England, tomatoes were grown only as ornamentals, perhaps because of the known toxic nature of some of their family members, namely jimson weed and deadly nightshade. The Italians, ignoring its suspect reputation, were the first European culture to enthusiastically embrace the tomato and make it an important part of their cuisine. Its acceptance in America didn't come until the early twentieth century. Now, it's the number two food we eat, right behind the potato.
Primary source: On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, by Harold McGee.