The creamiest creamed corn

With absolutely no cream!

First you might ask: what’s wrong with cream?

The short answer is: nothing! I love ice cream, sometimes whipped cream, and a pasta dish finished with a splash of cream. But on an everyday basis, I try to keep things a little lighter so I have more room for the occasional indulgence.

This recipe hits all the right notes without counting as one of those indulgences, so it’s no wonder I’ve had it in heavy rotation. In fact, I’ve made this creamed corn four times in the past few weeks, and it keeps on getting better and better. When something tastes this good and has such a luxurious texture without cream, why look further?

The creaminess here actually comes from a simple technique: you just puree a portion of the corn and add it back into the pan. A pat or two of butter adds tons of flavor and even more creaminess, while some parmesan adds umami and balances the sweetness of the corn with a little funk.

But wait — isn’t summer over? To this I say: not quite! Yes, the autumnal equinox did happen, but there is still plenty of corn and tomatoes and zucchini and even cucumbers at my local farm stand. There are also plenty of squashes, apples, pears, root vegetables, etc. It truly is the best time of year to cook, don’t you agree?

It’s a long winter ahead, so I tend to cling to summer produce as long as possible, even as I’m beginning to create slightly more hearty fall-like dishes. I love how the first earthy squash tastes with the last sweet corn. 

This is what six ears of corn look like cut off the cob. Cutting into a wooden bowl keeps the kernels from flying while protecting your knife blade. It also gives you a nice steady surface to cut on and allows you to shave the cobs really close!

Even if you don’t drop everything to make this right now, which I urge you to do, I encourage you to get at least six ears of corn, cut the kernels off the cob, and freeze them ASAP. I usually do this in preparation for Thanksgiving dinner, because the corn loses little in quality when frozen for such a short time, and I love a good corn side dish on my Turkey Day menu. I’m not hosting this year, but I will still freeze some corn so I can make this creamed corn, or the chowder linked below, later on.

Here are the how-tos for freezing the corn, plus a slew of ideas for preserving other fresh summer flavors, from last year’s “Saving Summer” newsletter.

While this creamed corn is a side dish, it easily becomes the basis for a simple main. I recently made a piece of striped bass (line-caught and left in the freezer by my tenants) just for myself, and ate it atop a pile of this corn, along with some coins of zucchini sautéed until they were spotted with brown. It was delicious and yet so simple I decided to make it for my weekend guests the next night. It was too good not to share, and they devoured it. It was summer on a plate. Get it while you can. 

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So delightfully creamy! I love how the texture makes it easy to eat. Every last kernel stays neatly on your fork.

This creamed corn can also be served…

• With grilled chicken or pork and a crunchy red cabbage slaw

• As an element in a rice bowl

• As an omelet filling with or without cherry tomatoes

• As a bed for any white fish, like fluke or halibut

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Summer-to-fall menu

These transitional Susanality recipes are ideal for when the temps are cooling, but there’s still plenty of late-summer produce to be found.

Fire Island Clam Chowder

Corn, bacon, and clam may be the headliners here, but there’s a secret ingredient: half a head of cauliflower. It might sound weird, but it adds body and thickness without hijacking the flavor.

Baked Sungold Pasta

I love how this recipe takes advantage of those fleeting end-of-summer veggies and also eases us into the cozy new season.

Blueberry Corn Buckle

Corn — the veg of the moment! — imparts its subtle flavor and adds moistness to this simple, easy-to-make, and fruit-packed skillet cake.

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Creamiest Creamed Corn