Sweet Corn Tomalito

~Amanda~

Sweet Corn Tomailto is one of my guiltiest pleasures and it’s something that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get enough of! What in the world is it, you may be asking – well, it’s basically like a cross between cornbread and corn pudding, it’s sweet (but not too sweet) and moist and tastes just heavenly. I first tried Sweet Corn Tomaltio at a Chevy’s restaurant when I was young and instantly fell in love – if you’ve ever been there, it’s that yellow ball of corn that comes as a side to almost every dish. I mean who wouldn’t enjoy eating their corn when it’s made this way with just enough sugar to make it almost taste like dessert instead of a side dish!? Nobody said this was healthy… but it is so so good!

I was fairly heartbroken when all the Chevy’s restaurants in Colorado closed down and I couldn’t get my fix of Sweet Corn Tomalito whenever I wanted anymore. The only Chevy’s restaurant that I am able to actually go to now is in Bloomington Minnesota when we visit our relatives out there every few years. I will honestly admit that we have gone straight from the airport to Chevy’s on multiple occasions where I place an order of about 12 servings of this delicious corn to go and eat pretty much all of it in the car (no judgement, please), it really is THAT good! Over time, as I developed my skills in the kitchen, I decided that this is one dish that I needed to learn how to make at home so that my only option when the craving hits isn’t out of the state.

It took me a long time to go through and test out all the ‘copycat’ versions of this recipe out there and figure out what balance of ingredients I liked best and what cooking method got that perfectly moist texture. Many years later, here we are and I am finally ready to share what I believe is the best recipe that tastes almost exactly like the Chevy’s version with you guys – you are SO lucky. And although I can make this anytime I want now, I honestly only ever make it on holidays because in my mind it is a ‘special occasion’ food and I don’t ever want to get sick of it!

When you’re making this corn there are a few important things to note; make sure when you’re blending up the corn, you only do half of it. One of the great things about this dish is that you have some of the corn pureed into it, but you also add whole corn kernels so you get that chunky texture and bite too. In addition to the regular corn you also use masa harina (which is a fine corn flour that is also used to make tortillas) as well as corn meal – there is no shortage of corn flavor here! Another important note is that you MUST cook this in the water bath as instructed. This ensures that the corn bakes slowly and stays very moist – without the water bath it can become dry and won’t be nearly as delicious. Okay guys, it’s time – now that you have all my Sweet Corn Tomalito knowledge, please try making this on your own and let me know if you think it’s as good as I do! Enjoy!