Fresh corn humitas in ramekins

My simple and easy recipe for making fresh corn humitas in ramekins. These humitas are baked using a water bath and this is my adaptation for when you can’t find fresh corn husks for the traditional method.

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Humitas are a very popular Ecuadorian dish that consists of savory fresh corn parcels wrapped in corn husks and steamed. They usually have cheese in the middle. One could say that they are similar to tamales but made with fresh corn. One might get in trouble for calling them a type of tamal. I might have received some not-so-happy comments about that. But technically the cooking and steaming process is very similar for both tamales and humitas.

This variation of humitas in ramekins is for those times when you can’t find fresh corn in the husks, or when the husks are very small and hard to fill. A few years ago, I went to the grocery store to get some fresh corn and they only had these half-peeled ears of corn. You know the ones that are wrapped, and you see the corn kernels, but they left part of the husk on the back part.

At first, I was going to make my pastel de choclo con queso, which is more like an humita casserole. It’s usually my go to option around this time of the year when it’s hard to find fresh corn in the husks. However, I really wanted to incorporate the few husks I had. There’s a special aroma that comes from steaming the fresh corn husks.

So, I decided to make these ramekin or mini versions and use some parts of the husks to line the ramekins and I had a few extras that I added to the water bath while baking them. The recipes for the batter for traditional humitas steamed in the husks, the baked casserole style one, and these in ramekins are very very similar.  

I used ramekins or small round baking molds for these baked humitas. However, you can also use different shape baking molds or even use a muffin tin – one for larger-sized muffins would be ideal, but even a standard one is fine. Just adjust the baking time based on the size and make sure you can fit it into a larger baking pan for the water bath.

The humitas in ramekins give it the same individual dish feel that the classic humitas have. They also make it easier to serve as an appetizer. I tend to serve the casserole version more as a side dish. The most important thing is that all versions have that comfort food feel that reminds me of home.

You can serve these as an appetizer or a side dish. I also love them for breakfast or as an afternoon snack with coffee. I also served them with Ecuadorian tree tomato aji hot sauce.

Fresh corn humitas in ramekins {Humitas en moldecitos}

An easy recipe for making fresh corn humitas in ramekins. These humitas are baked using a water bath and this is an adaptation for when you can’t find fresh corn husks for the traditional method.

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Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Brunch, Side Dish

Cuisine: Ecuadorian, Latin American, South American

Keyword: Cheese, Fresh corn, Humitas, Water bath

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings: 6 medium size humitas in ramekins

Ingredients

• 4 cups of sweet corn kernels from about 4-5 ears of corn, each cup has ~4 ounces of corn, so about 16 ounces/1lb total – if you were able to find whole corn ears with husks or part of the husks then save the husks to line the ramekins and to infuse some of their scent into the water bath
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ cup of corn meal ¼ cup = 40 grams/~1.5 ounces
• ¼ cup of heavy cream
• 4 ounces grated mozzarella cheese
• 4 ounces queso fresco crumbled
• ¼ cup white onion or white part from scallions diced
• ½ teaspoon salt adjust to taste

To serve:

• Tree tomato aji sauce
• Tomato onion curtido salsa

Instructions

• Pre-heat the oven to 350F.
• Combine the corn kernels, eggs, baking powder, cream, and corn meal in food processor or blender.
  
• Blend well and transfer the blended batter to a bowl.
  
• Mix the cheeses and diced onions together.
  
• Add half of this cheese mix to the corn batter and mix in using a spoon. Save the remaining cheese mix for melting on top at the end of baking.
  
• Make sure the ramekins or cooking molds are lightly greased with oil or butter.
• If you have any corn husks to use them to line the ramekins. You can use 1-2 per ramekin.
  
• Distribute the corn batter into the ramekins or small baking molds, I had enough for 6 ramekins. You can leave a little extra room on top.
  
• Place the ramekins in rectangular baking dish filled with water, the water should reach about ½ to ¾ of the height of the ramekins. If you have extra corn leaves/husks you can add a few to the water, it will them that special humita smell when they cook.
• Cover with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes or until they are set.
  
• Remove the foil and sprinkle the rest of the cheese mix on top.
  
• Bake for another 5 minutes uncovered – can also turn on the broiler.
  
• Remove from the oven and let them cool down for at least 5 minutes before serving.
  

Notes

You can also use frozen or canned sweet corn for this recipe.

Also, if not using sweet corn, then add 1-2 tablespoons of sugar to the mix when blending.

Step by step preparation of the fresh corn humitas in ramekins: