My dad grows corns every summer in his backyard garden. My mom made steamed corns for our afternoon snacks. I knew I should have saved some room for dinner, but often I was too full to eat dinner. Those just simple steamed corns right from the garden were so good and sweet. However, by the end of summer, I got a little tired of steamed corns.
The corn dish I never got tired is the corn soup. I had sweet corn soup for my breakfast. My mom usually served it with a soft white bread, lightly toasted. I loved dipping the bread in the corn soup and had it absorb the soup. Sometimes I soaked teared bread pieces in the soup topped with cheese and toasted until the cheese melted.
This macaroni gratin with corn cream comes from that breakfast, the corn soup dipping with bread. I like the rigatoni pasta for this dish, because it can contain more corn soup in its bigger hole, but you can use whichever pasta you like!
Miso, butter, and corn make a good combination.The butter and corn is the classic topping for miso ramen. Miso can add umami and nutty flavor to your corn cream.
This dish is a great side for grilling too!
Shuck corns and reserve 1/2 cup of corn for later. Simmer corn, cream, and a cob (to extract corn flavor from) for 10 minutes. I broke the con into half to fit in a pot.
Remove the cob and pour the corn and cream in a blender with miso. Blend it until smooth. Put it back in a pot and add reserved corn and butter. Simmer for a few minutes. Season with salt and white pepper.
Mix the cooked pasta in a corn miso cream.
Place corn gratin in a skillet or bakeware. Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top. I think sharp cheddar cheese is good match with sweet corn cream and nutty umami of miso, but the fontina or gruyere cheese are good too!
Broil the gratin until cheese melts and nicely browned.
- 8 oz rigatoni
- 2 ears yellow corns
- 1 ea garlic, sliced
- 2 cups cream
- 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon miso
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- to taste, salt and white pepper
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Get corn kernels off the cob. Reserve 1/2 cup of corn and add the rest of corn to a pot with sliced garlic and a cob of corn (you can break the con into half if it doesn’t fit in a pot). Add cream and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook rigatoni pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with some salt. Cook the pasta according to the instructions of the package. Drain the pasta well.
- Preheat the broiler with high setting.
- Take the cob from the pot and scrape the cream off the cob in a blender. Discard the cob. Pour the corn and cream in a blender with miso and blend until smooth.
- Put back the corn cream into a pot. Add the reserved corn with butter and simmer for a few minutes. Season with lemon juice, salt, and white pepper.
- Mix the rigatoni into the corn cream. Place it in a bakeware and sprinkle cheese. Broil it until the cheese is nicely browned.
I had no idea that miso could go so well with any kind of Pasta! I guess the standard misoshiru soup or misoniku is just the tip of the iceberg. ???? ???? ????
Miso is fermented food like cheese, and many like pairing it with butter and cream. Miso, butter, cream, corn and cheese won’t fail with pasta!
It’s such a savory combo; maybe someday a miso pizza will take America by storm!
(Lol, it looks like my emojis got turned into question marks)
Miso pizza sounds really good! Maybe miso marinated chicken and mushroom….pizza!