Melbourne is famous for its beautiful spread of brunch options in cafes and it's also one of my favourite pastime on weekends. I've recently gotten into a routine of dreaming up what I would like to have for brunch on Sundays and this is my creation this week. My concept started with just charred corn on toast as I loved its juicy sweetness and the flame kissed colour of the lightly scorched corn kernels. To that I've added a smoked corn puree to enhance the smokiness, feta for the creaminess, crispy prosciutto for a salty umami crunch, fried basil leaves for a touch of freshness, before rounding out with a confit egg yolk because what is brunch without eggs? It's lovely when concepts in my head translates well to the plate and palate, and this was one of those little triump and a plate of happiness for me this Sunday. Hope it is yours too!
Difficulty: Medium
Time: 90 minutes
Serves: 2
Ingredients
Confit Egg Yolk
- 2 egg yolks
- olive oil
Crispy Prosciutto
- 2 slices of prosciutto
Crispy Basil
- 1 handful of basil leaves
Smoked Corn Puree
- 280g sweet corn kernels from a can
- 75g cream
- 1 tbsp sweet corn juice from the can
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- salt
Charred Corn
- 2 corn cobs
- 3 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp butter
Other
- 2 slices charcoal sour dough
- 4 tbsp Persian feta cheese
- pinch of cayenne pepper
Method
1. Put the egg yolks with some olive oil in a zip lock bag and cook in a hot water bath at 63 degrees over 45 minutes with a sous vide stick.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees. Carefully place the prosciutto flat on a piece of baking sheet. Lay a second sheet of baking paper over the prosciutto then weigh down with another tray. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes until crisp. Set aside.
3. Heat some oil in a small pot. Deep fry the basil leaves until crisp for about 15 seconds, set aside on kitchen paper towel.
4. Add the corn, cream, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, corn juice in a small sauce pan, season to taste. Gently heat it up over low to medium heat until hot but not boiling. Add the corn kernels in a food processor adding just enough lid to blend, blitz until smooth and pass the puree through a sieve into a glass container. Smoke the puree with a smoking gun using applewood for that smoky flavour. Keep hot in a bowl filled with hot water for serving later.
5. Heat up some oil in a cast iron fry pan over high heat, add the corn on cobs to the pan and cook until lightly charred and fully cooked. Once cooked, turn off the heat and add some butter to coat through thoroughly. If you want an even char on the corn like I did, use a blow torch to finish. Let it cool and cut off the corn kernels for serving.
6. Assemble by placing some feta cheese and charred corn on a slice of toast. Pour some smoked corn puree on the plate next the toast, then carefully place the confit egg yolk on top of the puree, before sprinkling with some more cayenne pepper. Garnish the dish with crispy prosciutto and basil leaves and enjoy it hot!
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