A Little Corny Souffle

Corn and potatoes are mixed with pastry dough and baked in the oven to make a creamy and scrumptious soufflé. Serve this as a yummy side dish to roast turkey during thanksgiving. It also goes well with steak, baked fish, barbecues, grilled meats, and stews. In this recipe, potato puree, con mixture, and pastry are combined to create a crust that is crispy and golden on the outside and a light airy and fluffy interior that is like soufflé.

You can make the potato puree ahead of time or use leftover mashed potatoes to make this delicious corn soufflé. Potato puree is like mashed potatoes but smoother and finer. You can make a smooth potato puree by passing the potatoes through a sieve or using a potato masher. You can also make it creamier by adding milk or cream and some butter. The corn should also be cooked and the kernels should be scraped off the cob before it is added to the other mixture. Feel free to check out some great recipes from Gourmandia.ca.

The pastry consists of water, milk, salt, flour, butter, and eggs. Similar to the method of making soufflé, the eggs are whisked separately to create a fluffy and airy texture when the dish is baked in the oven. The egg whites should be whisked until it turns foamy and stiff, while the egg yolks should be whisked until it becomes creamy and whitish. The eggs are then folded in to the rest of the ingredients. Before the eggs are added, however, the flour should be well incorporated in the wet ingredients and the batter should be smooth and contain no lumps. You can use an electric mixer or beater to get a fine consistency. The pastry is mixed together with the corn and potato and not made into a crust like pie. When baked in the oven, the corn and potato soufflé will rise wonderfully and form a beautiful golden crust.

Ingredients

1 lb. potatoes
0.55 lbs. (about 1 cup) cooked corn
For puff pastry:
1 cup milk
1 cup water
½ tablespoon salt
16 tablespoons butter
19 tablespoons flour
10 eggs

1. Simmer water, milk, salt, and butter in a saucepan and stir well. Remove the pan from the heat and incorporate the flour, mixing with a blender until smooth and no trace of lumps are present.

2. Separate the egg white from the yolk and place in different bowls. Whisk the yolk until it turns whitish and whisk the whites until it becomes foamy and stiff. Add the eggs to the milk and flour mixture and fold together.

3. Boil the potatoes and mash to make a potato puree. (1 lbs. potatoes for every 2 lbs. puff pastry) To the 2 lbs. puree, add 0.55 lbs. cooked corn kernels. Mix well.

4. Mix the potato/corn mixture and the egg/flour/milk mixture and blend until smooth.

5. Coat the cylindrical baking dish (about 1 diameter) with butter and sprinkle with flour. Fill about ¾ full of the mixture. Bake for about 15 minutes in a 400 degree F oven or until puffed and golden.