Thomas Keller's Creamed Corn

For Christmas this year I chocked up a lot of cooking time. Half of the cooking was really planning. The planning is a fun process of reading through my cookbooks and flagging recipes and then running through the list of shortlisted recipes to see what is really feasible in the cooking time. One of the real winning recipes that I found this Christmas was Thomas Keller’s creamed corn from Ad Hoc at Home.

This recipe is really good. It is very simple and the flavours are divine. The cream and butter makes the creamed corn luscious and the pinch of cayenne pepper makes the dish pop with a gentle at the end. I loved it and the people I served it too loved it too – I’ve made this three times in five days! I’ve also made a ‘variation’ of it out of necessity, substituting calamansi for lime and I prefer it with latter.



Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home Creamed Corn Recipe
6 corn, shucked
1 large lime or 6 to 8 calamansi
2-3 tablespoons butter, unsalted
Salt
¾ to 1 cup heavy cream
A pinch of cayenne
Finely chopped chives

Directions
1. With a sharp knife, cut vertically down each ear of corn to slice off the kernels. Put the kernels in a large bowl, then hold each cop over the bowl and use a spoon or the back of a knife to scrape any remaining corn and the milk from the cob.
2. Grate the zest of the lime, preferably with a microplane grater; set aside. Cut the lime in half.
3. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the corn, squeeze about 1 tablespoon of the lime juice, or to taste, over the corn, and season with salt.
4. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until all of the liquid has evaporated, concentrating the flavour, and the corn is beginning to sizzle, 15 to 17 minutes.
5. Stir in ¾ cup cream, the cayenne, and lime zest. Continue to cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the cream is absorbed by the corn. Add up to ¼ cup more cream if desired for a creamier texture. Add salt to taste and stir in the chives.