Corn-Tomato-Arugula Sauté

To all of you who have lots of corn and tomatoes from the garden to use up as summer turns to fall…well, screw you! I can’t even have a window box of basil with the amount of exhaust-fume buildup that collects on my windows from the busy Brooklyn avenue they face! But because I am incredibly generous and selfless (pfff), I will provide for you a very easy and yummy recipe that uses up both of those. You could also use up your basil or other herbs with this warm veggie side dish, which could also be served cold or at room temp as a salad.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 TBSP butter (plus a splash of olive oil to keep it from browning in the pan)
• 1/2 large red onion, diced
• 1-2 jalapenos (depending on your heat preference), diced, de-seeded and trimmed of ribs
• 3 ears’ worth of fresh corn kernels, trimmed from the cob (slice off the tip of the ear, stand it upright on a cutting board holding the handle from the top with your non-dominant hand, and slice downward with a large kitchen knife—or get one of these, which I just saw in Cook’s Illustrated and really want one of)
• Halved grape/cherry tomatoes or diced garden tomatoes—you could do like 1/2 cup to 1 1/2 cups, depending on how tomatoey you want it
• Kosher or sea salt (to taste)
• 1 to 2 tsp of paprika, cumin, curry powder, or some combination thereof (or you could go with 1/2 to 1 tsp dried thyme)
• 4 cloves of garlic or more, minced
• 1 small-ish bunch arugula or baby arugula, washed and trimmed (you can tear handfuls apart in your hands or leave it intact)
• Cilantro to taste—pick a couple handful’s worth of washed leaves and chop up

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan…

• Melt butter (+oil) over low heat.
• Add red onion and turn up heat to medium-low.
• Add jalapenos. Sauté until onion starts to turn translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
• Add corn, tomatoes, salt, spices, and garlic. Stir.
• Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the corn is bright yellow and has the right give when you chew it—I mean, all you have to do is taste corn to know when it’s done to your liking.
• Remove saucepan from heat and give it a minute.
• Add arugula and cilantro and stir/toss together. The arugula will get soft and dark green but it should still have a bright, fresh-greens taste, and the cilantro should likewise retain its pop of flavor—this is why you don’t add them while the dish is still cooking.

And that's it—pretty simple, right? Now that autumn is here, enjoy savoring the last gasp of summer-produce goodness!