BACON: Add olive oil to a large (10 or 2-inch) pan and set to medium heat. Add in the diced bacon and onion. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally at first and more frequently at the end, until bacon is browned and onions are tender. (Bacon won't brown much more past this point so fully cook it here).
CORN: Add in the frozen corn, 2 tbsp. butter, and seasoning to taste (I add 1 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper--See Note 2). Reduce heat to medium low. Cook, stirring frequently until corn is heated through and butter is melted, 3-5 minutes.
CREAM SAUCE: Sprinkle 2 tbsp flour on top of corn and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and add in milk and sugar (See Note 3). Stir, scraping bottom of the pan, until cream thickens, about 1 minute (Note 4). As soon as it thickens, remove from heat. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top and gently stir through to melt. Taste for seasonings, adding more if needed. If desired, sprinkle in fresh herbs.
SERVE: If desired, add another sprinkle of Parmesan. Enjoy warm!
Video
Notes
Note 1:Parmesan cheese: Packaged grated Parmesan (in the can) is very salty and won't melt as nicely in this recipe. We highly recommend grating a block of Parmesan cheese on a microplane or the small holes of the grater for ultra-fine cheese shreds.Note 2: Salt: Depending on how salty the bacon and Parmesan are, you may want less (or more) salt. Add gradually, tasting, until flavors come to life!Note 3: Sugar: Add this ingredient slowly and to taste. The amount you add can vary, depending on how sweet the corn you are using is.Note 4: Thin the sauce: If the sauce thickens too much (on the heat too long), you may need to add another splash of milk to loosen the sauce. (Add slowly-- we don't want corn drowning in cream, but rather nicely creamed in an even ratio of corn to sauce).