I is for Indian Corn Pudding (Jennifer)

Hello dear readers!

We're nearing the halfway point in our alphabet challenge, and I must say, the letters are becoming increasingly difficult! : ) This week was no "cakewalk" either. That's because this week was the letter "i" and usually, the first thing, well, really, who am I kidding?? The only thing that comes to mind immediately is ice cream! The letter "i" goes with "ice cream" like peanut butter goes with jelly. But, I just couldn't stop at ice cream. I needed to find a challenge. Something a bit more out-of-the-box. Something intriguing and interesting.

In my search, I kept coming back to a recipe I found on Epicurious for Indian Corn Pudding. Sounds weird, I know. But, there's a story. You see, back in the day, my husband and I often frequented a Mexican restaurant near our house where they served a corn pudding of sorts. It was really just a scoop on the side of your dish of sweet corn goodness, but I loved it. So, when I saw this recipe, I thought it may be a way to re-create this sweet corn goodness at home.

In the end, I'd like to say I prefer the look of the restaurant's sweet corn goodness, mixed with the taste of my sweet corn goodness. Is that allowed? What follows is not the recipe for world's prettiest dish, but a dish that exhibits some of the best flavors of summer, all wrapped up in a pudding!


Indian Corn Pudding
Epicurious, May 2006

Ingredients

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• Two 6-inch corn tortillas
• 1 poblano chile
• 3 cups corn kernels, thawed if frozen
• 1 1/2 cups 2-percent milk
• 1/2 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 large eggs plus 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup grated reduced-fat Cheddar (about 3 ounces)
• 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
• 3 tablespoons masa harina de maiz (see tip, below)
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 8-inch springform pan with nonstick spray. Line outside of pan with foil to prevent batter from leaking and place on cookie sheet (see tip, below).

Place tortillas directly on oven rack and toast, turning halfway through, until crisp and dry, about 5 minutes. Let cool, then grind finely in clean spice grinder or small food processor. Set aside.

Using tongs, hold poblano over stovetop burner on high heat, turning frequently, until blackened all over, 5 to 10 minutes. (Alternatively, roast under broiler, turning and watching carefully.) Place in medium bowl, cover with plate, and let steam until cool enough to handle, 10 to 15 minutes. Using paper towels, wipe away charred skin. Cut out and discard stem and core. Halve pepper lengthwise, scrape out seeds, and dice half pepper. I used the whole pepper, but if you'd like a milder taste, use only half. Set aside diced pepper.

Jessica and I started that grill!! See her post on Irish Soda Bread!

In food processor, purée 2 1/2 cups corn and 1/2 cup milk until smooth. Set aside.

In medium skillet over medium heat, warm oil. Add onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and slightly softened, about 30 seconds.

Transfer onions and garlic to large bowl. Add ground tortillas, diced poblano, puréed corn, remaining 1/2 cup corn, remaining 1 cup milk, remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, eggs, cheese, sour cream, masa harina, and sugar. Whisk to combine.

Scrape mixture into pan and bake until center is just set, 40 to 50 minutes. Or until not wobbly in the center. Cool 5 minutes in pan on rack. Carefully invert pan onto serving platter and release sides. Remove bottom of pan (now on top) and serve.

Tips from Epicurious: · Masa harina de maiz, also called corn flour or instant corn masa mix for tamales, is corn that has been treated with lime and water then ground and dried. Maseca brand masa is available at www.mexgrocer.com. If you buy Quaker masa, the most common brand available in the U.S., be sure to buy the "Masa Harina de Maiz," not the "Harina Preparada Para Tortillas." Regular cornmeal cannot be substituted for masa. · **I didn't use Masa Harina de Maiz, but instead used cornmeal (just like it says not to). I thought it turned out fine, though maybe the masa helps with the consistency issues?

If you don't have a springform pan, you can cook the pudding in any sort of baking dish and spoon it out to serve. It can also be baked and served in ramekins for individual servings.** I would suggest this as my springform pan worked, but when I inverted the "pudding" onto a plate, it looked not-so-pretty:

Review:

In the end, this hit the spot in terms of flavor (the roasted poblano pepper really made the dish). If I made the dish again, I would definitely heed the tips from Epicurious and bake the pudding in individual ramekins, simply for a prettier presentation. It was a fun challenge, now on to "j"!

Cheers,

Jennifer