A friend of mine knows a Realtor in Nashville, Julie, who was going to be on House Hunters (Season 171, Episode 6, City Wife vs Suburban Husband https://www.hgtv.com/shows/house-hunters/episodes/city-wife-vs-suburban-husband). We thought we would celebrate with her even though we could not be in the same city. We had a watch party and enjoyed a meal of Julie’s Sweet Basil Shrimp with Julie’s Green Chile Corn Cake, finishing off our meal with a mixed berry crumble with fresh mint. Julie did awesome and we enjoyed the meal and our time together.

This corn cake is made from maseca but you could use polenta if you wanted. Just remember it’s 4:1, 4 cups liquid to 1 cup maseca (or polenta). Frying up pieces gives it a crisp start and the coconut milk and gouda make for a creamy finish. Yum.

Julie’s Green Chile Corn Cake

2 can coconut milk

4c broth (I used vegetable)

2 New Mexico green chiles, roasted, peeled, deseeded, and diced

1t salt

2c maseca

6oz gouda cheese, shredded

2T butter

2T coconut oil

To prepare, start a few hours before you want to eat, or the day before if you are organized like that. Line an 8×8 cake pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large saucepan, on high heat, bring to boil coconut milk, broth, green chile, and salt. Lower the heat to simmer the broth for 5 minutes.

Whisk in the maseca, 1/2 cup at a time, while the broth is still boiling. Cook the maseca for about 10 minutes, whisking every minute.

Turn off the heat and add the shredded cheese, whisking until it melts. Then pour into the lined 8×8 pan and let cool. I let mine cool for about 10 minutes, until I can hold the pan and not burn myself, and then put it in the refrigerator to cool the rest of the way.

When the corn cake is completely cooled and you are ready to prepare the rest of your meal, invert it onto a cutting board then remove and discard the paper. Cut the cake into whatever size pieces you would like. I tend to cut mine thinner, like the size of one of those pink erasers.

Melt 1t butter and 1t oil together in a frying pan. Add enough corn cake pieces to cover the bottom of the pan. Fry to crisp the sides, 3-4 minutes each side. You will need to lower the heat as you continue frying and add more butter and oil as needed to fry additional pieces.

Pictured: served with Julie’s Sweet Basil Shrimp.

Alternatives: If you do not have access to fresh green chile, some larger grocery chains will sell a small can of green chiles in the Mexican food aisle or you can roast a poblano pepper or jalapeno yourself.