We both love corn recipes, and I made this dish on Sunday afternoon, several hours after arriving home on the red eye. A very successful dinner, and plenty of left overs for breakfast and a couple more meals as well.
Fire Roasted Corn Flan from the October/November 2007 "santa fean".
[Note: there are a number of options in this recipe, and the article contained a number of typos; I've written it pretty much as I made the dish, bracketing my options.]
6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
4 1/2 cups fire roasted fresh corn kernels, five to six ears [our corn was marginally fresh but acceptable roasted]
1 1/2 cup heavy cream, divided
1 1/2 tsp [arrowroot] or cornstarch
1 to 2 TBSP chipotle chiles in abodo, minced, or 1/3 cup chopped, roasted New Mexican green or poblano chiles. [I did not use the chiles in my first attempt; we like the flavor of all of the other ingredients, and added a bit of heat to taste at table.]
6 TBSP unsalted butter, divided 1/3, 2/3
1/2 cup [bread crumbs with 2 TBSP butter] or corn tortilla chips without butter
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 TBSP fresh marjoram or [sage]
4 large eggs, well beaten
1 cup grated Monterey Jack, Mexican queso asadero, cheddar or [fontina] cheese; replace 1/3 cup with Cotija, Roman, Parmesan or [Asiago] for a sharper flavor
1 tsp salt -- omitted here.
Black pepper to taste
Technique
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Roast all of the corn -- see cook's notes.
Puree half the roasted corn with 1/3 cup cream, arrowroot powder and chipotle or chiles in a food processor.
Melt the butter and combine 1/3 of the butter with the bread crumbs; reserve.
Sautee the onions in the remaining butter for two minutes, add garlic and herbs and sautee for another two minutes.
Place all of the corn, corn and cream mix, onions and garlic in a bowl and mix well.
Stir in the eggs, the remaining cream and the cheese.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Pour into a lightly buttered baking dish or into individual ramekins.
Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
Bake 40 to 50 minutes in the baking dish or 25 to 35 minutes in the ramekins.
Bake until the top is golden brown and flan is set, but not too firm -- it should wiggle when shaken.
Cook's Notes
Roast the corn using your favorite method; I cut off the kernels and sautee the kernels in their own milk in a stick proof pan until they form a light crust. Deglaze with white wine or water and add the liquid to the roasted corn. [I believe frozen corn would serve the purpose in this dish if fresh corn is not available.]
The "santa fean"" suggests cooking the corn with husks on in a grill for 7 to 10 minutes until the kernels give a little when pressed. Or, bake in oven at 450 F for 15 to 18 minutes until the kernels give a little when pressed. In either case, allow the corn to steam in its husk for 5 to 6 minutes, then unhusk and remove the silk.
Trader Joe sells a Fire Roasted Corn which I think is too sweet as a side dish but would work well in this recipe if you are pressed for time.
On my first attempt, I used 2/3 fontina and 1/3 Asiago cheese, which was fine; the other blends seem good as well.
I did not use the chiles on the first attempt -- we like roasted corn -- but we can see the appeal of the chiles in this dish.
I would cut back the butter to 3 TBSPs, and use half and half next time.
The unbaked flan would hold nicely in the fridge for a few days, and could be frozen for six months or so; a great reason to use the individual ramekins instead of a baking dish. [That's true, but perhaps even more important, it's tougher to overeat with individual servings.
]
Wine Match.
One reason I avoided the chiles in this recipe was that I served the dish with Gewurtztraminer Vendages Tardives Heimbourg Zind-Humbrecht 1990. The wine is drinking beautifully just now, the acidity added a fascinating dimension to the dish generally, and it was almost a perfect match. I'm sure the dish would go well with dry Rieslings and perhaps with a young Cote du Rhone.
Regards, Bob