Why this recipe works corn and cream make a fantastic combination; their sweet flavors mingle to bring out the best in each other. Those who dread creamed corn have probably had only the canned version, which contains no cream at all—only water, thickeners, sugar, and who-knows what else suspended in a gelatinous, gloppy goo. We set out to rescue this dish and return it to its rightful place at the summertime table. To start, we stripped plump, yellow kernels from a stack of husked corn cobs and simmered the kernels gently in water, to deactivate the natural enzymes that might cause the cream to curdle. This cooking liquid turned into a flavorful, concentrated corn broth. To thicken this broth, we blended a portion of the kernels with ¼ cup of cream until smooth and then added this puree back to the rest of the corn in the saucepan, which gave us the perfect texture. Do not substitute frozen corn for fresh.
SERVES: 4 to 6
TOTAL TIME: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
- 7 ears corn, kernels cut from cobs (about 7 cups)
- 1¼ cups water
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- Salt and pepper
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Combine corn and water in large saucepan and bring to boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until corn is crisp-tender, about 20 minutes.
- Remove saucepan from heat and transfer 1½ cups corn mixture to blender. Add cream, 1⅛ teaspoons salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Stir pureed corn mixture into corn mixture in saucepan and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve. (If creamed corn looks thin, return to low heat and cook gently until thickened slightly, about 3 minutes.)
VARIATIONS:
CREAMED CORN WITH BACON AND SCALLIONS:
- Cook 2 slices chopped bacon in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until crispy, 5 to 7 minutes; transfer to paper towel–lined plate. Stir crisped bacon and 2 minced scallions into saucepan with pureed corn before serving.
CREAMED CORN WITH CHIPOTLE AND CILANTRO:
- Add 2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce to blender with corn. Stir 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro into saucepan with pureed corn before serving.
