Corn Flan

Photo: Amy McCoy

Ingredients

2 cups corn kernels, from 2 large or 4 small ears of corn

1 cup whole milk

1/4 cup fresh ricotta

2 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano cheese

4 eggs, well beaten

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease four 1-cup capacity ramekins and set them aside.

In a blender or food processor, combine 1 cup of corn kernels with 1/2 cup of milk. Puree until smooth, and repeat with the remaining corn and milk.

In a large mixing bowl, ideally one with a handy pouring spout if you happen to have one of that type available to you, combine the corn puree, ricotta, Pecorino-Romano, and eggs. Mix them up well, and season with salt and pepper. Now pour the mixture into the greased ramekins, leaving a half-inch of custard-free space leading up to the top edge of the ramekin to allow for expansion.

The most difficult thing about this recipe may be having to tell your loved ones that you're utilizing a bain-marie, and then explaining what a bain-marie is. Set your ramekins into a lasagna pan or roasting pan. Carefully pour in enough water so that the water level is half the way up the sides of the ramekins. Too much more, and you run the risk of water sneaking into your custards, and we don't want that. This is your bain-marie, or water bath, in which you will cook the custards for 55 minutes to one hour, until a knife inserted into the custard emerges clean. Carefully remove the bain-marie from the oven - we don't want any splashing on the exit from the oven, either - and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. The custards may be served warm or at

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About

Though the corn season starts in July and ends in October (in New England where I live, anyway), the true, perfect-eating corn on the cob has a much shorter window. And sometimes, in your overzealousness at the farm stand, you buy more than you could possibly eat in one night. And yet, it seems a waste toss those remaining ears into the trash bin or compost. It is those times, and the times later in the harvest season, when the corn has lost its crunch and is sweet yet mealy, that one should turn to recipes such as this one. All of the corn flavor, none of the unpleasant chomping on texturally inferior corn. For no one wants that.