Recipe: Corn Pudding
Creamy, warm, and a little bit spicy — a side dish that always gets gobbled up.
When we lived in Pennsylvania and people got together on a Saturday night, it was always a potluck. Our former neighbor, Wendy Saul, would bring one of her famous pies with a filling of berries or apples from her orchards. She also often brought a savory corn pudding, made with her home-grown corn sparked with jalapenos that she’d pickled in vinegar. Just before baking, she liked to sprinkle the top of the pudding with mild chili powder or paprika.
The pudding was creamy and warm, sometimes quite spicy — a wonderful side dish that looked great on a table full of food. She never took any of it home (not the pie either) because it was always gobbled up. It was that kind of popular dish, and one of the tastes of our former home that I’d been thinking about.
Other favorites that crowded those tables included homemade bread, maybe with Jeanne’s peach jam. Green beans stewed with tomatoes, scalloped potatoes and rice and lentil salads, along with main dishes such as stuffed peppers or Liz’s baked spaghetti. For a larger group, there might be a roast turkey, with buns for sandwiches.
Wendy generously gave me her corn pudding recipe, which she got from Anna Thomas’ The Vegetarian Epicure, Book Two. I hope she doesn’t mind that I changed a few things, adding cornmeal instead of flour to thicken the custard and sauteed sweet red pepper for a more photogenic pudding. Otherwise it’s pretty much the same, except for the basil. I’ll have to tell her about that. It lifts the flavors, making it even more delicious.
Corn Pudding
Makes 4 main dish servings, more as a side dish.
3 tablespoons butter
1 medium sweet onion, chopped (about ¾ cup)
1 small red bell pepper, coarsely chopped (about ½ cup)
1 jalapeno pepper, minced, with some seeds
3 large eggs
1/4 cup fine cornmeal
1 1/2 cups whole milk
¾ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne
2 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels, from about 3 ears corn
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 12x8-inch baking dish.
2. In a medium skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and jalapeno and cook, stirring often, for 6 to 8 minutes, until tender. Remove from the heat.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the eggs until well blended. Whisk in the cornmeal until smooth. Whisk in the milk, cream, sugar, salt, black pepper and cayenne. Stir in the corn and the sautéed onion mixture. Stir in the basil and all but ¼ cup of the cheese.
4. Scrape the mixture into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the top evenly with the remaining cheese.
5. Bake, uncovered, for 40 to 45 minutes, or a few minutes more, until the pudding is bubbly and puffed at the edges, is no longer jiggy and feels just firm off center. Let it cool at least 10 minutes on a wire rack before serving hot.
