Corn pudding is an old-fashioned dish that, nevertheless, has never gone out of style. It shows up in recipe boxes and cookbooks with eggs and without, with fresh corn, canned corn, frozen corn and sometimes no corn at all but cornmeal instead, and as a sweet dessert and a savory side dish. Puddings that don't use eggs can be taken one step further and made fully vegan by using a dairy-free milk such as soy or rice milk.
Fresh Corn Pudding
The simplest corn pudding relies on just two main ingredients: fresh corn and cream. Getting the corn kernels off of the cob is a bit of an art -- you want to release as much of the milky juice from the kernels as possible so the pudding is bursting with the corn's sweet flavor. To do this, hold the ear of corn by the end and use a sharp knife to slice down the cob, cutting only the top layer off of the kernels. Then go back and scrape down the cob to release the milk and get the kernels off of the cob. Baked with cream, sugar, salt and pepper, you'll have the freshest and richest corn pudding.
Simple Corn Pudding
You can also make corn pudding with frozen corn that you've thawed. Many recipes will instruct you to puree a portion of the corn with milk in a blender or food processor -- in a sense, duplicating fresh creamed corn -- and leaving a portion whole, for texture. If you're using milk instead of cream, a tbsp. each of flour and cornmeal will help the baked pudding thickens nicely. A tsp. of baking powder, a bit of sugar and melted butter and salt and pepper to taste are all the remaining ingredients needed.
Spoonbread-style Corn Pudding
For a corn pudding similar to spoonbread, you can use a box of cornbread mix. The trick here is to make a more liquid batter that's rich with corn and cream so that it bakes up into a luscious pudding rather than cornbread. You can add fresh corn you've cut off the cob, thawed frozen corn pureed with milk or cream or canned, creamed-style corn to the batter. Try adding a container of sour cream for richness and tang. If you're serving the pudding alongside a hearty dish like chili, add a cup of shredded cheddar cheese to the batter as well.
Southwestern Corn Pudding
A fully vegan corn pudding with a Southwestern twist uses fresh corn, red bell peppers and jalapeno peppers sauteed together and briefly blended in a food processor with coconut milk, and then mixed into a batter using cornmeal, maple syrup, chopped scallions -- also known as green onions, chopped cilantro and salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Try substituting other spices like chili powder or cumin if cayenne is too hot for your taste.
References
- "Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook"; Isa Chandra Moskowitz; 2007
- "Joy of Cooking"; Irma Bombauer; 1963
- Food.com: Jiffy Corn Pudding
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