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Corn Spoon Bread With Crème Fraîche And Chives

Root and Bone|

Corn Spoon Bread With Crème Fraîche And Chives
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Make a double batch of this gooey cornbread, courtesy of chefs Jeff McInnis and Janine Booth of Root & Bone — it’s that delicious. If you don’t have crème fraîche on hand for serving, you could use sour cream or plain Greek yogurt instead.Looking for more recipes and tips for cooking with corn this summer? Click here for ideas from Sunshine Sweet Corn.
Servings
6
Corn Spoon Bread with Crème Fraîche and Chives
Ingredients
  • 2 cup milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/8 cup sugar
  • 1 ½ tablespoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 cup grated corn
  • 1 cup whole corn kernels
  • 1 cup cornmeal, plus extra for sprinkling
  • 3 eggs yolks
  • ½ cup sharp yellow cheddar cheese
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ cup chopped scallions
  • 3 egg whites, whipped to medium peak
  • 2 tablespoon butter
  • creme fraiche, for serving
  • snipped chives or fresh thyme, for serving
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Bring the milk, cream, sugar, salt, and cayenne to a low simmer in small sauce pot over medium heat. Stir with a whisk and incorporate both the grated corn and whole corn kernels.
  3. Then add the cornmeal, stirring to keep any from sticking or scorching on the bottom of the pan. Cook the corn meal for about 5 minutes on medium heat at a low simmer and then turn the heat down to low, stirring constantly. Cook for about another 10 minutes until the mixture is thick like grits. (Depending on the grind of your cornmeal you may need to add another ¼ to ½ cup of milk to keep the mixture from getting too thick). Once the cornmeal is cooked completely, remove it from heat and let it cool to at least room temperature. (To speed this process up you can spread it on a flat sheet pan or place it in the refrigerator).
  4. Once the cornmeal is cooled to at least 80 degrees F you can place it in a large mixing bowl and stir in egg yolks, cheese, sour cream, and scallions. Fold in the egg whites (very slowly and gently) using a rubber spatula.
  5. Butter the insides of six 4-ounce baking dishes. Once they’re buttered add about a teaspoon of corn meal to each dish and dust the bottom and all sides lightly, until they have an even coating of corn meal. (The butter will make the corn meal stick in place).
  6. Distribute the Corn bread batter into each dish evenly, filling the ramekins about ⅘ of the way up the side of each ramekin.
  7. Place the ramekins in a 4-inch-deep baking dish and pour hot water in the dish (being careful not to get any water inside the corn bread mixture). Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake 10 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the bread sets and is lightly browned. The corn bread should still be gooey and about as firm as a soufflé.
  8. Remove the pan from oven and use tongs pull the hot corn breads from water bath. Unmold the warm corn breads onto a plate, keeping the top side up. (Run the tip of a small paring around the edge of bread to separate it from the dish before unmolding).
  9. Serve the bread hot, topped with crème fraîche and chives or thyme.
 
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