This simple corn pudding recipe marries the nutrient-dense egg with America’s favorite vegetable: corn. Throw in mild hatch chiles complemented with a subtle sweetness and warm flavor of freshly grated nutmeg and you have a winning dish that screams “company is coming”, yet is secretly guilt-free.
While many corn puddings call for a generous amount of Monterey Jack, cheddar or other cheese, this luscious corn pudding is made lighter with only 4 ounces of crumbled goat cheese. Goat cheese is lower in fat and calories and has the added heart healthy benefit of being lower in sodium than other cheeses as well. Because of the incredible egg, it is also hearty and rich enough in protein to serve as a main vegetarian course in itself.
Considering February is American Heart Health Month, I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about how eggs fit into a heart healthy diet. Eggs are one of nature’s most perfectly balanced foods, containing all the protein, vitamins (except vitamin C) and minerals essential for good health. My husband has heart disease and we make eggs a regular part of our diet – it is an inexpensive complete source of protein with lower saturated fat than other animal proteins.
A large egg contains only a moderate amount of fat, with about 5 grams in only the egg yolk, (1.5 grams saturated), 213 mg of cholesterol and 75 calories. Eggs can easily fit into your daily fat limit, but the elephant in the room has always been the amount of cholesterol in eggs – the yolk contains approximately 190 mg of cholesterol and 5 grams of fat, less than a third of which is saturated fat. In the 1980’s science focused on the amount of cholesterol in eggs, however recent nutrition information indicates that it is more important to focus on reducing the intake of total fat and saturated fat rather than cholesterol. This is good news for eggs. {Source: National Egg Co-ordination Committee}
Corn Pudding with Roasted Hatch Chile
This simple corn pudding recipe marries the nutrient-dense egg with America’s favorite vegetable: corn. Throw in mild hatch chiles complemented with a subtle sweetness and warm flavor of freshly grated nutmeg and you have a winning dish that is secretly guilt-free.
Active time: 20 minutes | Total time: 1 hr. 20 min. | Servings: 6, as a side
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 Hatch chiles (I picked out 2 green, and 1 red)
1 -16 ounce bag frozen white corn (4 cups), thawed*
4 ounces goat cheese crumbles
5 large Safest Choice™ eggs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup whole or 2 percent milk
5 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt, optional*
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
* Note: If you choose to use fresh corn, you’ll need 5-6 ears. Remove the husk and use a box grater to coarsely grate the kernels off four ears and use a sharp knife to remove kernels from the remaining ears. Eliminate the salt for low sodium diets.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Directions:
1. Place the butter in a baking dish (an 8-by-8-inch glass baking dish or a cast iron skillet works well) and put it in the oven so the butter melts while the oven is preheating.
2. Heat a heavy pan (preferably a cast iron skillet) over a medium-high flame. When the skillet is hot, char the chiles until the skin blisters and becomes blackened, but not so much that they begin to cook. Turn with tongs to char all sides, remove and place in a paper bag (or baggie) and allow them to steam while you prepare the rest of the batter.
3. Reserve 1 cup of corn and pulse the remaining 3 cups in a blender or food processor until the corn is finely chopped.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the goat cheese crumbles and eggs, and whisk until thoroughly combined. Add the corn kernels, sugar, milk, flour and salt.
5. Remove the chiles from the bag and rub off the blackened skins as best you can (don’t run the peppers under water). Stem and seed them, and coarsely chop. Add them to the corn mixture.
6. When the oven has preheated and the butter in the baking dish has melted, carefully tilt the melted butter from the baking dish into the corn mixture and combine with a few swift strokes. Then tilt the buttered corn mixture back into the baking dish.
Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until a golden crust has formed and the interior has set (the pudding shouldn’t be jiggly, a toothpick inserted into the center should be dry).
Enjoy 🙂
Part Mexican-style spoonbread, part sweet cornbread, this creamy corn pudding is corn comfort at its best and a delicious accompaniment to any main dish protein – imagine it served alongside roast chicken, BBQ ribs, grilled steak, baked pork chops – you get the idea. While reading about cornbreads and corn puddings from around the world: budin de elote, budin is Spanish for pudding; humitas, Bolivian-Columbian-style corn pudding; mealiebrod, South African steamed cornbread, etc. – here in America, the many iterations of corn follows the path of Native Americans migrating from Central America to the southwest, then to the north and east. Along the way it it married with regional ingredients and traditions and evolved into an everyday staple as well as a significant part of holiday celebrations – like Thanksgiving and Christmas tamales! Just a little history lesson before serving 🙂
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
February 20 at 12:02 pmThis looks so comforting, Priscilla! I love the hatch chiles!
Patty
February 20 at 12:22 pmLooks very good Priscilla 😉 We love any and all things made with corn and chiles!
Shari B.
February 20 at 2:35 pmI’m super excited to try this! I had a spoon corn pudding for the first time ever last month and have been waiting for a recipe to come along that is healthy. Thanks P.
[email protected]'s Recipes
February 21 at 8:57 amThis looks super duper delicious, Priscilla.
Lori Lynn
February 23 at 5:02 pmThis looks fabulous. I have started to eat a small amount of eggs again. So happy! AND I have Hatch chiles in my freezer too. Love this recipe.
LL
Lynn @ The Actor's Diet
March 2 at 11:11 amobsessed with corn pudding! i have yet to make it myself, though.
Terra Baltosiewich (@CafeTerraBlog)
March 5 at 8:38 pmOh that looks delicious, I love baked corn dishes! I love your addition of the hatch chile:-) Looks wonderful, Hugs, Terra