Smash-Fried Potatoes with Pickled Corn Relish — The Summer Side You’ll Put On Everything

One of the reasons it’s been relatively quiet here is because as meaningful (okay I’m being sarcastic) as it was when a shampoo brand I ordered from five years ago sent me an email last week about their support of the Black Lives Matter movement, I’m wary of using my platform in a way that places more value on the performance of allyship than the practice of it. If you’re concerned about what my values are, I spoke about them in greater detail in last week’s newsletter. It would ring hollow to pivot away from what I love the most in June — grilled vegetables, summer salads, icy drinks, and birthday cake — for a detailed look at, say, bail funds only to pivot back two days later because I wanted to make lemon bars. But it would have been disingenuous to feign interest in berry shortcakes as usual while my head was everywhere else. So, I’ve been taking some time offline to process, learn, plan, and parent, until I could find a way to move forward in a way that feels authentic to my values and where I’m at, and to what this site has always been, a place where I hope you’ll find your new favorite thing to cook.

At-a-glance

I created a new reference page, too. A few people had messaged me asking for cookbook and food memoir suggestions by Black writers and so I went to my bookshelves and I pulled out several — plus a few more I don’t have or have lent out but highly recommend — and shared a little about each. This is not, of course, an exhaustive list and I’m sure I’ve missed some great ones. This is simply what I’ve read and enjoyed over the years. Perhaps you’ll find a few new favorites, too.

It was in flipping through a relatively new book — Vegetable Kingdom, by Bryant Terry, out in February — that I stopped short on these potatoes with corn for several reasons: it’s a gorgeous dish. I love smash-fried potatoes (much quicker than smash-roasted, ignore any recipe that tells you otherwise). The sweet corn relish looked amazing and I’ve apparently written “pickled corn” four different times on my spiraling To Cook list and hadn’t gotten to it yet. Terry’s spin — with minced hot and sweet pepper, sliced tomatoes, and cumin seeds — is far more nuanced than I could have dreamed up and I enjoyed the story of his maternal grandmother making this traditional dish eaten throughout the South, and storing in the larder for the winter. The spicy spring pea sauce provides a delicious contrast, and I love the way cooking for his little girls is woven into his recipes. The slow-cooked onion rings (not breaded, just caramelized) are very much my thing. Does this add up to a lot of cooking steps? Yes it does. Are they worth it? Absolutely. If you make nothing else, make the corn relish because you’re going to want to put it on everything this summer, from toasts to tacos to salads. This recipe, like the entirety of the book, is real ingredient-focused vegan cooking with Afro-Asian flavors. It’s vivid and unrestrictive and it even comes with a playlist; I bet you will enjoy it as much as I am.

Ingredients

Sweet corn relish

Spring green pea sauce

Smashed potatoes, onions, and assembly

Make the Sweet Corn Relish: Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Prepare a bowl of ice water and set aside. Add the corn to the boiling water, blanch for 1 minute, drain, and immediately transfer to the ice bath for 5 minutes. Drain and slice the kernels from the cobs. Place the kernels, tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, and garlic into a 1-quart jar (or divide between two 1-pint jars) and set aside.

In the same pot used for the corn, combine the rice vinegar, 1/4 cup water, sugar, mustard and cumin seeds, salt, peppercorns, and turmeric. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook until the liquid is hot to the touch and the sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes. Pour the hot liquid over the corn mixture and let cool. Refrigerate the relish at least one day to develop flavor, or store for up to 1 year.

Make the Spicy Spring Pea Sauce: Remove peas from their pods. In a medium pot bring 1 quart water to a boil over high heat. Add 2 teaspoons salt and gently pour in the peas. Blanch until just tender, about 3 minutes (or up to 4 minutes if frozen). Drain peas and rinse with cold water. Transfer peas to a blender, add 1/4 cup water to start, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, the jalapeño and the lemon juice, and puree until smooth. Add the remaining 1/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed, until the mixture is viscous but pourable. Pour into a serving bowl and season with additional salt, white pepper, and lemon juice to taste.

Make the Smashed Potatoes and Caramelized Onion Rings: Fit a large pot with a steamer insert and add 2 inches of water. Place the potatoes in the steamer, cover, and cook over medium heat until fork-tender, about 35–45 minutes, adding water if necessary. Remove potatoes and let cool 5 minutes.

While potatoes steam, warm 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Reduce heat to low and add the onion slices intact. Cook, stirring and flipping for even browning, until they begin to caramelize, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and set aside; leave any extra oil in the pan.

On a clean surface, gently press each potato with the palm of your hand to flatten to about 1/2-inch thickness. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. In the same skillet used for onions, add the remaining 1/4 cup oil and heat over medium-high. Add half the potatoes in a single layer and cook until crispy and browned, about 5 minutes. Salt, flip and fry the second side 4–5 minutes more. Transfer to the paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining potatoes.

To serve: arrange the potatoes on a platter, top with the caramelized onions and spoon the sweet corn relish over them. Season with freshly ground black pepper and serve the pea sauce alongside.

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