John Barleycorn's Harvest Corn Pudding

Well, it's been a while since I last posted. I'm not really going to explain why, but it's good to post again.

Today, I've decided to make my own version of traditional American corn pudding. Corn was and still is the primary vital grain in American diets, from Canada down to Argentina. It's our grain, like wheat is the European grain.

I decided to make a (mostly) milk-free version, replacing the milk with coconut milk.

I used Cascadian Farm organic sweet corn. I suggest using local or organic corn, preferably non-GMO if you can find it...

You'll need 2 pounds (32 ounces) of corn for this adventure. The original recipe asks for two 15 ounce cans of creamed corn. Canned creamed corn is pretty disgusting, if you ask me. I am not such a snob that I would not eat canned creamed corn if I was hungry. However, it's definitely not first on my list. 

Here's my take on this delicious classic:

In a large saucepan, melt two tablespoons of butter or coconut cream (the fat layer on top of a first pressed coconut milk) over medium heat. 

This time, I chose butter. If I were to make it again, I think I'd stick with coconut cream.

Be careful to stir frequently and adjust the heat so it does not brown. You could also use ghee (Indian style clarified butter) if you wished. Next, we're going to add 2 tablespoons of unbleached wheat flour. 

If you don't know how to make a roux, I suggest you learn!

Sprinkle the flour in slowly and stir until you get what's known as a roux. Then we're going to add coconut milk. The variety of coconut milk that you use will completely change the consistency of this pudding.

First pressed coconut milk will ensure a great cream layer right on top. 

All the liquid is completely contained right underneath this layer. You can resuspend the cream and liquid back together with stirring or gentle prodding with a stick blender.

You'll need a cup and a half of coconut milk, which is most of this can. Empty it into your roux and keep stirring over medium-high heat until thickened, about 3-5 minutes. 

Voila! A coconut milk roux. 

You have two choices right now. You can roughly blend the thawed corn with a stick blender or in an actual blender. You'll want to pulse the corn gently, or you'll have corn puree on your hands. If you like the whole kernel joy of corn, then don't worry... just add the whole 1 pound package to your roux. Either way, you want the whole package of corn in your stove pot, blended or whole. It's really a texture opinion... if you like silkier pudding, blend. If you like chewier pudding with whole kernels, don't blend.

Cook for about 3-5 minutes, adding 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt. 

The egg came first, folks. The biologist knows!

Five. Count 'em. Five eggs. Whisk them lightly. Now, here's where you use your judgment again. If you want a sweet pudding, add about 1/4 cup of sugar. I like a less sweet souffle-type pudding, so I only added a few more tablespoons. It's up to you! Now add 4 tablespoons of a starch thickener. I recommend cornstarch, but if you have issues with cornstarch, you can always add arrowroot or some other vegetable starch thickener. Get out those lumps! Put in 1/2 cup of water to assist your efforts. 

To our soup pot on the stove, we add another 16 ounces of whole kernel corn. This would be your second bag of corn, if you are using frozen corn. Now add the egg/starch mixture to your coconut corn goop on the stove. 

Corn boss! Or Corn Mo. But you didn't play Castle Crashers or listen to Ben Folds, did you?

Now we're ready to bake this pudding! 

CoRning ware. 

You want to bake the pudding in a more shallow and wide dish rather than a taller, narrower square dish. I have some square ceramic Pyrex dishes that are quite deep. I would not bake this pudding in those Pyrex dishes because I'd be afraid it would not set up well. Make sure you grease the dish before you add the corn stuff. You're going to have at least 2 quarts of corn pudding, so get a BIG dish.

1 hour later, at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius). I don't know what Gas Mark that is, I don't know about British gas ranges. Very sorry. 

Delicious.

There you are! This really will feed at least 8 people. You can freeze leftovers if you would like, as well. I thought this was delicious. I might try blending half the corn and doing the "silkier" variety of the pudding next time. For a vegan variety of this corn pudding, you can use egg replacer and vegan "butter." You could also puree 1 cup of soft tofu to replace the eggs, as well. For butter, you can also mix equal parts coconut oil, flaxseed oil and sesame tahini. Get creative! 

Happy Lughnasadh! Wiccans, Druids and witches honor the Green Man's first sacrifice to us so that we may continue to survive during the winter. And tell me how the pudding turns out...