Super Sides: Personal Corn Puddings

Personal Corn Puddings - Is it a super side dish or a meal in itself? YES!

The Occasion: These individual corn puddings are the perfect side dish for fancy feasts and down-home suppers alike. I’ve cooked the recipe twice now to rave reviews each time. Winner!

Make this soon while fresh corn is still in the market! Frozen corn is an okay swap but, as with most things, fresh is so much better.

The Playlist: We’ve got two tunes today. One for each ‘ear’ – get it?! Ooh That’s Corny by Homer & Jethro and Corny Love Song by Elle Michelle. Enjoy!

The Recipe: Ilise spotted Leah Eskin’s simple recipe for corn pudding in our local newspaper, the Chicago Tribune.

​Knowing that high-quality ingredients and simple treatments often yield the best results we gave it a try and were not disappointed.

A second go-round allowed me the chance to fiddle a bit with the recipe to achieve a smoother and fluffier pudding. My version appears below; you may find the Trib’s original recipe here.

The perfect side dish!

Why It Works: Three elements:

A) Homey treatment (pudding or casserole) of
B) a familiar and delicious ingredient (corn) served
​C) in a personal-sized portion (ramekin).

​For every grown-up whose inner child has ever screamed “Mine!” when asked to share, this is good news for you.

​No sharing required.

Serve With: In these pictures you can see that I’ve served the personal corn puddings as a side dish for seared salmon; it would be great alongside any other protein main course. Not pictured, we served the corn puddings with a southern style BBQ dinner of ribs and pulled pork and a big pot of collard greens. Mmm mm. Mouthwatering on both occasions.

Table Tips: You can make one big corn pudding in a casserole or deep baking dish, if preferred. But individual ramekins (or small Pyrex bowls) feel a little more special in my opinion. And if you have picky eaters who cannot abide different foods touching each other, here is your answer. 

Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.

The Verdict: This side dish truly elevates a meal to Special Occasion territory. The corn pudding is light and fluffy with tasty morsels of corn and savory bits of fresh herbs.

​Even better: you can make the pudding and fill the ramekins 2-3 hours ahead if desired. Place filled ramekins on a baking sheet, cover the whole thing with plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator. About 30 minutes before baking, remove the pan from the fridge so the puddings can return to room temperature before going into the oven. 

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Personal Corn Puddings
Recipe source: Leah Eskin, Chicago Tribune
Yield: 2 or 3 servings

INGREDIENTS:

• Butter, for ramekins
• 2 ears of corn, shucked
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup cream
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black or white pepper
• 1 drop vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• Optional: Pesto, purchased or homemade

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Generously butter two or three (1/2 cup) ramekins. Place ramekins on a baking sheet and set aside.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drop in corn. Cook until bright yellow and just tender, 5-6 minutes. Pull out corn and set aside. When cool enough to handle, cut kernels away from cobs.
• Drop three-quarters of the kernels into the blender. Add lightly beaten egg, cream, salt, pepper and vanilla. Blend thoroughly. I like the mixture to be smooth yet still retain a few lumps.
• By hand, stir in remaining corn and the basil and thyme.
• Pour the corn pudding batter into the prepared ramekins on the baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until puffed, golden and set, about 15-20 minutes. Start looking at 15 minutes, but mine took more like 20-22 minutes to become set. (Stab with a toothpick; it should come out clean.)
• If desired, add a dollop of pesto on top of each pudding. 

What do you think - is this a pudding or a casserole? Tell us in the Comments