CORN HUMMUS WITH SPICY CORN RELISH

When I saw this corn hummus on the menu at Oleana, one of my favorite restaurants in the Boston area—actually, make that the world—I had to try making it myself. After all, chef-owner Ana Sortun had years earlier stunned me with her warm, buttered Turkish hummus. Oleana’s talented chef de cuisine, Paige Lombardi, has clearly caught the hummus bug, because she loves to use the dish (and variations on it) to showcase seasonal produce, adding the warm spark of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern spices. She makes this beautiful dish by throwing corn cobs into the pot to flavor the chickpeas, adding turmeric for an earthy backdrop (and beautiful golden color), and topping it with a relish of corn, tomatoes, and spices—including fruity-hot Marash chiles. Besides scaling it down from restaurant yields, I made just one tweak: I like to throw some of the fresh corn kernels into the hummus, too—just to amp up that summer flavor. 8 to 12 servings

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Step 1

To make the hummus: Run water over the corn cobs in their husks and microwave on high for 5 to 7 minutes, until steaming hot. Let cool slightly, then use your fingers to feel where the row of kernels ends on the wide end of the cob (opposite the silk end) and use a sharp knife to cut through those last kernels and through the cob.

Step 2

Holding the silk end, squeeze each cob out of the husk from that end; it should pop out clean and slightly cooked. Rinse if needed to get more of the silks off. Cut each cob in half crosswise, then stand one half at a time on a cutting board, cut side down, and slice off the kernels. Reserve 1 cup of the kernels for the hummus and the remainder for the relish.

Step 3

Add the cobs to a large pot, along with the chickpeas, kombu, bay leaf, onion, garlic, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and enough water to cover everything by 1 inch. Set over high heat, bring to a boil, boil for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and cook until the chickpeas are very soft, 60 to 90 minutes. (Check the water periodically and add more as needed to keep everything covered.) (You can also make this in a stovetop or electric pressure cooker:

Step 4

bring to high pressure and cook for 25 minutes if using a stovetop model or 30 minutes if using an electric model, then turn off and let the pressure naturally release.) When the chickpeas are soft, remove the bay leaf, cobs, onion, and kombu. Drain the chickpeas, reserving the cooking liquid.

Step 5

Transfer the chickpeas to a high-speed blender or food processor.

Step 6

Add 1 cup of the reserved corn kernels, plus the tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, turmeric, the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid and process until very smooth. You want the consistency to be like thick, pourable pancake batter. Add more cooking liquid ¼ cup at a time if needed to loosen. Taste and add more salt and lemon juice, if needed.

Step 7

To make the corn relish: Pour the olive oil into a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, stir in the pickled peppers, coriander, cumin, chile flakes, oregano, salt, and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the corn and cook until the corn loses any raw taste, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and use the spoon to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Stir in the tomatoes and parsley and remove from the heat.

Step 8

Taste and add more salt if needed.

Step 9

To serve, scoop the hummus onto a large serving platter (or platters) and use the back of a spoon to swoosh it around the edges of the platter, creating a well in the center. Scoop the corn mixture into the center, sprinkle with the sunflower seeds and parsley, and drizzle with olive oil.