Corn Custard with Raspberry Sauce
Black Bean and Corn Salsa

This is my grandson, just 2 years old, enjoying his first ear of corn. “Enjoying” is an understatement: He was in seventh heaven. No way was he going to use any kind of corn holder: he wanted to feel the warm ear in his hands with the buttery juice running down his chin, along his stomach, on his lap. I have never seen a child so happy.

I don’t have enough words to praise corn, therefore the title: Just a simple “AH!” I discovered corn at age 27 when I came to this country, along with Chinese food and chopsticks and I never looked back.

There are so many dishes you can do with corn that I could not write just about one in this rubrique, so I chose two: a sweet dessert called “Corn Custard With Raspberry Sauce” and a hors-d’oeuvre I created: “Black Bean and Corn Salsa”.

Corn Custard with Raspberry Sauce

Course Dessert

Ingredients
  

Corn Custard

  • 4 cups fresh corn kernels (from 4 to 5 ears, depending on the size)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • ½ - ¾ cup granulated sugar (Not liking the custard very sweet, I personally prefer 1/2 cup)
  • 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 tbsp plain, fine, yellow cornmeal
  • The zest and juice of one lemon
  • ½ tsp salt

Raspberry Sauce

  • 2 containers of fresh raspberries
  • Sugar to taste
  • Grand Marnier or Calvados to taste

Instructions
 

Corn Custard

  • Preheat the oven at 300 degrees F. Place 8 (6 to 8 ounce) ramekins in a large roasting pan and spray or rub with oil.
  • Stir together corn, cream and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Remove from heat, cover and let steep for 15 minutes.
  • Transfer mixture to a blender and process until smooth, about one minute. Pour through a fine wire-mesh sieve into a bowl. Discard solids.
  • In a bowl, stir together eggs, egg yolks, sugar, melted butter, cornmeal, lemon juice, zest and salt. Stir in corn mixture. Pour into prepared ramekins and place them in the roasting pan filled with hot water up to half their height.
  • Bake for about one hour or until the center feels firm when pressed lightly.

Raspberry Sauce

  • Blend all ingredients and pour through a fine-mesh sieve.
  • When custards have cooled down, reverse them on a plate and pour raspberry sauce around and on top of it. Decorate with mint sprig.
Keyword corn, corn custard, Dessert

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Course Appetizer

Ingredients
  

  • 1 can of black beans
  • 1 ear of corn
  • 2 fresh tomatoes, peeled, or six or seven oven-dried tomatoes
  • As much fresh parsley as you would like
  • Fresh thyme if you feel like it
  • Garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Scrape the kernels from the ear of corn and chop.
  • Separately chop the black beans, the tomatoes and the parsley/thyme and stir them together in a bowl, along with the corn.
  • Grate the garlic and add it to the bean/corn/tomato/herb mixture.
  • Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
  • If you find the salsa a bit liquid, drain it through a sieve.
  • Serve with endive leaves, parmesan crisps or any kind of crackers you would like.
Keyword Salsa

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