This is the dish to take to the next backyard party. Made with sweet summer corn, spinach, provolone and spices, it’s the perfect way to honor the golden ear of the season.
When I think of this season, I think of the color yellow. It’s in the sunshine-y afternoons, the golden hue of the wheat fields down the road from my house, the crisp, cool glasses of white wine resting on the dinner table, and the ever-present bags of fresh sweet corn in my garage. Sweet corn is by the far the most requested menu item when we have company visiting from out of town; people go crazy for it.
The majority of the time I roll the ears in a good salted butter and let everyone have at them, but as of late I’ve been experimenting with more complex preparations. This sweet corn spinach gratin is a result of those experiments. The base of the gratin is a béchamel sauce, flavored with a complete seasoning blend. I’ve made this recipe using just about every green from my garden, and while I like the mild flavor of spinach best, both kale and rainbow chard worked as well, so please feel free to experiment.
I served the gratin at a family party this weekend, and it was a huge hit. It paired extremely well with the bottle of Sauvignon Blanc we had popped, which was also a key component of our meal. In fact, there wasn’t a dish on our table that didn’t either incorporate the seasoning blend or the wine, in some capacity.
We started dinner with a grilled romaine salad that I topped with a homemade spice-enhanced ranch dressing. I added a sprinkle of the seasoning blend to my not-so-secret barbecue sauce recipe, then slathered that on chicken thighs, and served them with the gratin. We finished with peaches poached in the white wine, butter and vanilla beans, which we poured over shortcakes. All of those things might sound fancy, but truthfully, they couldn’t have been simpler to plate, as most of the (minimal) prep can be done ahead of time.
The gratin travels pretty well too. You can make it to the point of baking and throw it in the oven once you reach your destination. Alternately, opt out of the baking altogether and heat it on the grill or over a campfire until the filling is bubbly. You can eat it hot or at room temperature. I have a feeling that once you try it, you’ll be seeing yellow all summer long!
