Hominy with Brown Butter & Crispy Sage

If you’ve only had hominy in pozole or other Mexican-inspired dishes, you’re missing out. Hominy is corn that has been dried and then soaked in lime water to soften and puff the kernels. Simmering hominy in broth softens the kernels even further, resulting in dumpling-like little pillows just begging to deliver brown butter to your palate. At least that’s how I think of them. They’re darned good baked with cheese as well, macaroni-style, or gratineed with cauliflower, which is how chef JD Fratzke serves hominy at The Strip Club Meat & Fish.

All good.

This dish would be made better with cubes of roasted squash, which I meant to include, but forgot to grab at the market. So add squash! Or halved end-of-season cherry tomatoes, warmed through for a minute in the butter. Toss, toss. I’ve added a few slices of leftover grilled sausage and been glad, too. It’s that kind of dish – fast, cheap, comforting, and highly adaptable.

As a side note, I’d like to advocate for the stand-alone beauty of fried sage. Oh my gosh so delicious. I always fry a few extra leaves to snack on while I make the rest of the dish.

As another side note, brown sage butter is incredible on popcorn!

Hominy with Brown Butter & Crispy Sage

Serves 4

1 29-oz. can hominy (available in grocery stores but strangely not at my co-op), drained
1 c. chicken broth
6 (or more) large fresh sage leaves, cut into thin strips
4 Tbsp. butter
salt & freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Add hominy and broth to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer hominy, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

While the hominy cooks, add the butter to a large skillet. Turn heat to medium. The butter will melt, and then foam. As the foam subsides, look for brown bits to start to appear in the butter. Add the sage and stir with a spatula, frying the sage and watching the butter carefully as it browns—keep a close eye, it will happen quickly. Remove pan from heat when sage is crispy and butter is a golden brown color and smells nutty.

With a slotted spoon, transfer hominy to the skillet of hot butter. Toss until hominy is coated with butter and sage. Add a bit of the broth to the pan to create a sauce. Season with salt and pepper and top with grated cheese to serve.