Corn and Hominy Casserole

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This lovely casserole can be served as a side dish or as a meatless entrée for lunch or a light supper. The recipe, originally develop by James Beard, has been changed substantially for health conscious cooks and diners. The original recipe used 9 tablespoons of butter and full-fat sour cream. I cannot tell a lie, it was delicious. This scaled back version is tasty as well and I like to serve it as a Lenten meal, along with soup or salad and tortilla chips. This dish used to be called two corn casserole because it is made with a mix of yellow sweet corn and hominy. Hominy is a food made from corn kernels that are soaked in an alkali solution of either lime or lye. The solution removes the hull and germ of the corn and causes the grain itself to puff up to about twice its normal size. Hominy is a common ingredient in Southern and Mexican cooking. This dish is really easy to prepare and it's a great starter recipe for young or beginning cooks. The casserole works really well with barbecue or Southwestern-style meals. I know that those of you who try this will appreciate its unique combination of flavors and the ease with which it comes together. There is nothing here not to like. Here's the recipe.

Corn and Hominy Casserole...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by James Beard
Ingredients:
3/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped jalapeno pepper
1/3 cup cilantro
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream or sour half and half, divided
16 ounces frozen corn , thawed
2 cans (15.5-oz each) hominy , drained and rinsed, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup Monterey or pepper jack cheese
3 tablespoons butter
cooking spray
1 teaspoon dried chervil

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a tall-sided casserole dish with cooking spray. Combine bell and jalapeno peppers. Stir cilantro into sour cream. Layer 1/3 of hominy, then 1/3 of corn in casserole. Sprinkle with pepper and salt. Top with 1/3 cup mixed peppers. Cover with 1/3 cup sour cream, then 1/2 cup cheese. Dot with 1 tablespoon butter.
2) Build a second layer with 1/3 of the hominy, 1/3 of the corn, 1/3 cup mixed peppers, and 1/3 cup sour cream. Dot with 1 tablespoon butter. (this layer is not seasoned or topped with cheese).
3) Build final layer using remaining hominy, corn, mixed peppers, sour cream, and cheese. Dot with final tablespoon butter. Sprinkle chervil on top of casserole.
4) Bake casserole, uncovered, for 40 minutes. Allow to stand for 10 minutes. Yield: 4 to 5 servings.






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