This corn gratin recipe from Jacques Pépin is a perfect summer side dish.
I’ve never been a big fan of The Food Network. It has a few great shows (Chopped, Barefoot Contessa, Good Eats) but most of the cooking shows don’t interest me. On the other hand, I adore PBS. For the longest time I had no idea PBS even had cooking shows. I associated it with Sesame Street and… I’m not sure what else. But it actually has a tremendous amount of food programming, both old and new.
You can watch Éric Ripert, José Andrés, Ming Tsai, the experts from America’s Test Kitchen and my favorite: archive shows from Julia Child and Jacques Pépin. Aside from the fact that they’re both adorable, I love watching their classic French technique. It’s how I was trained in culinary school yet I tend to shy away from French cuisine (probably because of over-saturation). But I could watch them for hours. And it’s usually after I watch them that I find myself returning to the classics.
The recipe I’m offering today is from Jacques Pépin. This corn gratin is more like a souffle and it’s a light, perfect summer side dish. You can watch him make it here:
Doesn’t that anchovy spread look good? And the lamb burgers? I always want to make everything he makes. And I want to hang out with him. He seems like a really cool dude.
Corn Gratin
Ingredients
- 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 ears corn
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup half & half
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
- Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and butter a 1 quart gratin dish.
- Remove corn from the husks and add to a food processor.
- Pulse a few times and then add eggs, flour, half & half, salt and pepper. Puree until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into the buttered gratin dish.
- Grate fresh Parmesan generously over the top of the dish.
- Bake for 35 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
Notes
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Recipe Troubleshooting
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cookinginsens says
Looks great!
Laura Dembowski says
Corn Gratin sounds amazing! I have to say I don’t think I’ve ever watched a cooking show on PBS, though I am definitely looking forward to Martha Stewart’s new show. I’m a Food Network junkie. I watch it constantly and love many of their shows. I also enjoy watching the Cooking Channel. But now I might have to check out more PBS shows.
fabiola@notjustbaked says
I adore gratin dishes, and Eric Ripert! I have never had a corn gratin, so I am excited about this one. I love Pbs to by the way, such great shows!
Nancy/SpicieFoodie says
I don’t get the Food Network here in Europe. But honestly from what I’ve seen online I don’t think I’m missing much. I grew up in the states and do remember watching PBS. We watched Julia Child and a show called, If Chen Can Cook So Can You. Did you watch that? Loved it! Anyways, your corn gratin looks so delicious. A new dish to me and one I can’t wait to try.
kitchen esence says
I like the food network, but I prefer PBS.
Joanne says
This gratin looks so creamy delicious! The perfect use of summer corn.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
Oh I wish I had bought corn today! I was going to but then my basket was too heavy. I would have definitely made this!
Asiya @ Chocolate and Chillies says
What a wonderful gratin! My kids are crazy for corn and I’m sure they would go crazy for this too!!
I liked food network better a few years ago..now it seems whenever I turn it on it’s a competition or reality show. I miss the cooking shows. I’ll have to check out PBS. In the day time in Toronto it seems to be mostly kid shows. I believe the PBS I’m watching is coming from Buffalo.
Jenny @ BAKE says
This looks absolutely delicious! I love the idea of corn and strong cheese!
Valerie says
What a lovely dish! I love corn, but there are not many unique recipes out there for using it. This looks very promising! (PBS is The best.) :-)
CJ at Food Stories says
Oh, man … this looks so good :-)
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
Simple yet very comforting dish – we love corn especially the kids would adore this dish!
Joanie says
I made the corn gratin….. It rocked! I’m making it again tomorrow night in individual mini souffle dishes. It’s a real keeper of a recipe. Thank you !
Baker Street says
WOW! This sounds simply amazing! Love that the list of ingredients is so small and so easily available in my pantry!
JulieD says
Wow, I love how simple this recipe is and it looks so good! I love PBS cooking shows too. I grew up watching Martin Yan and loved seeing Ming Tsai on there and continue to watch America’s Test Kitchen on there…I need to catch Jacques Pépin’s show…I enjoyed that video you shared!