One of most favorite things about summer is the lovely & plentiful bounty of fresh produce that available. I just love vegetables and corn is probably my all time favorite, hands down. This delicious kid friendly recipe will have your kids not only enjoying their vegetables, but asking for seconds as well!

If fresh sweet corn (on the cob) is available in your area, then by all means use it. If not, frozen corn will easily work in a pinch & is also a great timesaver. Although not traditional, feel free to add your favorite vegetables to this dish along with the corn. My Fresh Summer Corn Pudding makes for a great breakfast, brunch, light meal or side dish.

I think what I love most about this recipe is the versatility that it offers – there are really no hard & fast rules here, you can make this dish using any of your favorite vegetables and cheeses. Most anything will work and although I have not added any meat to this recipe – feel free to add any meat, poultry or seafood of your liking.


FRESH SUMMER CORN PUDDING

Ingredients:

2 large ears of fresh corn (remove the corn husks & silks)
2 large shallots, finely minced
1-2 large garlic cloves, finely minced
1” piece of ginger, peeled & finely grated
1-2 small green Thai chilies, finely minced
2 tbsp chives, finely chopped
¼ tsp smoked Spanish paprika
¼ tsp ground cumin
salt & pepper, to taste
3 medium eggs
2 tbsp cilantro leaves, finely minced
1 cup sharp white Cheddar cheese, finely grated
3 cups whole milk, divided
½ cup fine yellow cornmeal
freshly grated nutmeg
2 tbsp ghee (or unsalted butter)
finely chopped cilantro leaves for garnish

METHOD:

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a deep-dish 8-9” square or round baking dish and set aside until needed.

Then very carefully using a large sharp knife, remove the corn kernels from the cobs. Now, this can easily be done by simply cutting the corn kernels off close to the corncob itself. You will have about 1½ to 2 cups of corn kernels. Set aside until needed.

In a large deep skillet on medium high heat, melt the ghee or butter. When hot, add the shallots along with the garlic, ginger & green chilies. Sauté the mixture until the shallots have just softened & then add in the corn kernels along with the chives. Now add in the spices (smoked Spanish paprika, ground cumin, salt & pepper). Let cook for about 5 minutes or just until the corn kernels have softened. Then remove completely from the heat & allow to cool.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the eggs together until frothy & stir in the cilantro leaves along with the cheese and set aside until needed.

Now in a large saucepan on medium heat, bring 2 cups of the milk to a gentle boil. The slowly add in the cornmeal while whisking continuously. Reduce the heat to low while whisking constantly for about 4-5 minutes until the mixture thickens. Then remove the saucepan from heat & whisk in the remaining 1 cup of whole milk along with the corn mixture & also the egg mixture. Don’t forget to add the freshly grated nutmeg, mix all of the ingredients together until well combined.

Next, carefully pour into the buttered baking dish. Let the corn pudding rest for 15 minutes & then bake for about 45 minutes or until the top is lightly golden brown & and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the pudding rest for about 10 minutes, garnish with the cilantro leaves & serve warm.


VARIATIONS:

Feel free to add your favorites summer vegetables to the dish as red or green bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, fresh baby spinach, green peas, small broccoli florets…..