Is there anything better than a truly creamy summer corn dish (ok, besides just eating it right off the cob)? When I bring home tons of corn and field peas from the farmers market at the height of summer, my favorite Sunday night meal is some peas cooked with a little bit of meat (bacon, country ham, pork jowl, whatever I have) and corn scraped off the cob cooked down in some heavy cream. The cream turns almost yellow from the corn and the resulting unctuous coating just brings out the creamy sweetness of the corn. I love it. That’s generally just something I do for myself, but I wanted to transfer the idea to a company worthy idea. So I knew that adding leeks, with their gentle allium flavor, so much softer than onions, would complement the corn without overpowering it. And to be honest, I happened to have some gruyere cheese on hand and knew that would add just a slight nutty edge, again highlighting but not drowning out the fresh corn. And the end result is very good. There is something almost French about this, though I know the French don’t get much fresh corn in their climate. So this end up being a very simple but exceedingly elegant dish. I saw a recipe for a creamy corn dish in a cookbook form 1878 titled “Fricassee of Corn”, and I considered using that for this recipe.
Slice the leeks into thin half-moons and rinse them well. Drain them but add them to the butter in the pan with a little clinging water, so they soften and steam slightly. I generally find bi-color corn around her, peaches and cream and bread ad butter are such evocative names for these varietals, but any peak-of-summer corn works. Cook everything slowly and gently, first so the leeks soften and not brown, then so the cream reduces and thickens without scorching and boiling over. As I said, I love the nuttiness of gruyere, but parmesan or pecorino would work just as well. If you are looking for more great ideas for all that summer corn, check out my Chimichurri Corn Casserole, Smoky Bacon Corn Casserole or Creamy Corn Pasta Sauce.
Ingredients
3 medium leeks
4 Tablespoons butter
3 cups fresh corn kernels, from about 4 ears of corn
2 ½ cups heavy cream
½ cup finely grated gruyere cheese
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Directions
- Cut the white part of the leeks in half, then slice the halves into thin halve moons. Place in a colander and rinse well, shuffling to separate the leeks. Shake most of the water off but leave them just slightly damp.
- Melt the butter in a 3-quart stove-to-oven braiser or skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring frequently, until the leeks are soft and wilted, about 10 minutes. Cook them slowly so they become tender but don’t brown. Add the corn kernels and stir to coat with the butter and distribute the leeks. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally unto the kernels are softening. Salt generously and add generous grind of black pepper, then pour in the cream. Bring the cream to a roiling bubble, then reduce the heat. Cook, stirring occasionally but watching carefully so the cream doesn’t boil over, until the cream is reduced and thick and just a sauce coating the kernels, 20 – 30 minutes. Reduce the heat if the cream is in danger of boiling over. When the cream is mostly thickened, stir in the gruyere cheese until melted. You can serve the creamed corn immediately or prepare it several hours ahead and reheat over a gentle heat or place it in a 300 degree oven until heated through.
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