Visual and aromatic similarities inspire connections. We have been developing the elements for today's pop up adventure featuring doughnuts by day and noodles by night at Inferno PIzzeria. One of the courses is centered around the first of the season's corn. For years I have struggled with creating a corn filling for pasta. The filling, while delicious, has always been too wet. Finally, I broke from what my idea of what should be a filling and focused on making something amazing. I started with instant masa. It is fast cooking and full of corn flavor. I always enjoy the combination of corn and truffles. And I like the earthy headiness that comes with the controlled use of quality truffle oil. The funkiness of the truffle is similar to the flavor and aroma of fermented black beans. And since we had our smoked black beans on hand, bringing the two together was easy because they were both in the front of our thought process.
We cooked the instant masa with milk and some salt. When it was smooth and creamy I added cream cheese, parmigiano reggiano, ricotta, truffle oil, and minced fermented black beans. The result was decadent corn-centric, truffle-enhanced, creamy, decadent grits. The texture and flavors were intense, ideal for a pasta filling to be paired with creamed corn from the first crop of the season.
Years Past
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