1 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 ears of corn
1/2 tbsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
When we were driving home from Monterey, I had Gar read me most of Chef Batali’s new cookbook “America: Farm to Table.” When we got home, I was cooking this recipe before I had unpacked. The recipe in the book is double what I have listed and it was baked in six 8-ounce ramekins. I cut the recipe in half and placed the mixture in two larger ramekins (because that’s what I have at home). I was very pleased with the way this recipe turned out. I’ll quote the description from the book, “This is simply the finest, creamiest, richest, and most decadent appetizer pudding you will ever taste.” I’m not sure about the “I will ever taste” part but it was pretty effing good.
Preheat your oven to 325 F and grease your ramekins with butter. Remove kernels from corncob, season with salt and nutmeg (I actually didn’t have nutmeg so I used allspice instead and it worked out great) and saute/char in a pan with the olive oil over high heat for about 2 minutes, stirring almost continuously.
In a bowl, whisk together the Parmigiano (the doubled recipe actually listed 1 and 1/2 cups of the cheese), cream (if you want to use half and half to cut calories you can, just know that the texture of your end result will suffer, it will be looser) eggs, and cornstarch to form a batter. Next, stir in the cooled corn mixture and pepper. Portion your batter among your ramekins, place them in a roasting pan, and fill the pan with hot water to within 1/2 inch of the top of the ramekins. The baking time will depend upon the size of your ramekins. The eight ounce ramekins are cooked for 40min total (turning the pan 180 degrees halfway through). I ended up cooking my ramekins for 60min total, turning it 180 degrees twice.