What is a sformato you might ask? Well, it's not exactly clear to me. Appears that it might be a cross between a soufflé and a flan, that ends up, in this case, like a corn casserole. Just don't ask me for the pronunciation. At any rate, I made this recipe for a Thanksgiving (Canadian) weekend meal. It had a good flavour but I suspect the texture would have been different had it not been frozen prior to baking. Note to self: Do not freeze sformato.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing
- about 5 cups of fresh off the cob corn kernels (6 cobs approx.)
- 2 tablespoons flaky sea salt
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups ricotta
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1& 1/2 cups grated Parmesan
- 4 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
- coarsely ground black pepper
- about 20 fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 lemon juiced
Methods:
In a large skillet, soften the corn over medium heat in 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of flaky sea salt (not table salt). Transfer half of the corn to a food processor and puree with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Combine the remaining kernels with the puree and let cool.
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. When the corn is cool, add the ricotta, heavy cream, sour cream, 1 cup Parm and remaining 1 tablespoon of flaky sea salt.
Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks on a high speed. Stir the yolks into the ricotta mixture and then gently fold in the whites.
Rub the sides of a 6 by 10 or 8 by 8 baking dish with butter. Add 3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan and knock it around to coat the bottom and sides of the baking dish, then follow with a few grinds of pepper. Pour the ricotta batter into the dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the sformata has set in the centre.
Grind the basil and lemon juice together with a mortar and pestle if you happen to have one. Add a pinch of salt and 1/4 cup oil.
Just before serving, top the sformata with some Parmesan and drizzle with the basil oil.
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