Just corn
Toasted corn fool, corn biscuits, polenta ice-cream and cloud
Alfio Ghezzi
For 4 people
For the toasted corn fool
330 g of milk
35 g of toasted corn
2 egg yolks
60 g of sugar
4 g of gelatine sheets
80 g of cream
For the corn biscuits
85 g of flour
85 g of maize flour
90 g of icing sugar
40 egg yolks
80 g of butter
23 g of corn starch
For the corn ice-cream
500 g of milk
50 g of maize flour
3 g of salt
220 g of pasteurised egg whites
70 g of sugar
150 g of water
For the corn cloud
100 g of egg white
40 g of sugar
1 pinch of bicarbonate
0.5 g of agar
1 Ovoneve
1 grating of lemon zest
Corn powder
For the polenta chips
500 g of water
65 g of maize flour
3 g of salt
For the toasted corn fool
Blend the milk with the toasted corn, then filter and bring to the boil the infused milk, pour it on the egg yolks, previously beaten with the sugar, and heat to 82 °C. Take off the heat, cool to 40 °C and add the gelatine. Incorporate the cream only when the mixture is lukewarm, then pour it into bowls and place in the fridge.
For the corn biscuits
Process the ingredients as you would for normal short pastry, adding the flours only at the end to reduce the formation of gluten and obtain a more crumbly biscuit.
For the corn ice-cream
Bring the milk to the boil, season with salt and pour in the polenta slowly. Leave to cook for 20 minutes, then pour it over the pasteurised egg whites and use a mixer to blend everything, adding the sugar and the water. Pour into a Pacojet container and process just before using.
For the corn cloud
Whisk the egg whites with the sugar, the Ovoneve, the agar and the bicarbonate, adding the grated lemon zest at the end. Use an icing bag to form clouds on a baking tray and steam for 8 minutes at 65 °C. Then store in the fridge.
For the polenta chips
Boil the water, add salt and pour in the flour slowly. Cook for 20 minutes and spread on sheets of baking paper, then dry at 70 °C for at least 3 hours.
Presentation
Pour the fool into bowls and place them in the fridge. When ready to serve, add a corn biscuit disc, then the cloud, and sprinkle everything with the toasted corn powder. Place the ice-cream quenelle on the cloud and finish with the veils of crunchy polenta.