Growing up on the east coast, I looked forward to the short window that would open each summer when we would finally get fresh corn on the cob.  During that window, I think we had it with dinner almost every night.  If I remember correctly though, the window didn’t last very long, and then you were back to frozen or canned until the following year.

When I moved to Denver, the window seemed to be much bigger – it must have been because of the long hot summers we had.  One summer by boyfriend (now husband) decided he wanted to grow his own corn in our small 3×10 rectangle of land we called our garden.  He carefully mapped out just a small portion (since he didn’t want to give up on any of the other veges) of the plot to attempt the corn.  Sure enough, come August, we had a few ears of fresh corn to eat, right from our own garden.  It was pretty amazing.

Now we are here in Seattle, where the window for fresh corn on the cob is the biggest yet – it starts in mid-June and easily goes through August.  Seems a little counterintuitive, since we have only had about 3 days so far above 70 degrees, and barely any sun? But yes, the corn gets shipped in from Eastern Washington, and for the most part it is pretty good.  Nothing like right from the garden, but better than frozen or canned.

I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit and even though the corn was not nearly as sweet as it will be this summer, the dish was still wonderful.  You definitely want to serve this immediately for best results, since it comes out of the oven nice and puffed up (due to the egg whites), but I was still eating leftovers a few days later, and warmed up in the microwave, it was still delicious.  It is perfect next to a delicious rack of ribs, or some other BBQ food – but we had it with some delicious Carnitas at a friend’s house, and it was the ideal side dish.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels
• 1/3 cup finely chopped seeded jalapeno chiles
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 1/2 whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy whipped cream
• 1 cup chopped roasted red peppers (from a jar)
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup coarsely grated Manchego cheese or sharp cheddar cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butt a 2-quart shallow baking dish.  Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion, corn, jalapeno, and garlic; saute until soft, about 4 minutes.  Stir in cornmeal.  Add milk and cream; stir over medium heat until thick batter forms, about 2 minutes.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Stir in red peppers, green onions, cilantro, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper;  cool 15 minutes.  Stir in egg yolks. Using mixer with clean, dry beaters, beat egg whites in medium bowl until soft peaks form.  Fold whites into batter.  Transfer to dish.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake pudding until top is golden and center is just set, about 35 minutes.  Serve immediately.

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