Summer’s bounty here in the Northern Hemisphere! If you grow your own or are just lucky enough to have fresh local stuff this is the time for amazing sweet corn. I grew up in Maine and while we didn’t grow our own, I do remember getting the best corn from farm stands in my little town and getting it home, shucked, and cooked ASAP to enjoy slathered with butter and salt and pepper! Even my grandma from IL loved this one type of Maine sweet corn that she claimed was the best she’d ever had.
Now I don’t have any space to grow my own but here in southern OR we get lots of good fresh corn at the local grocery stores this time of year. Here are some of my favorite ways to use it!
from www.seriouseats.com/…
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 4 ounces bacon, cut into fine dice
- 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 2 ears of corn)
- 1 to 2 red or green jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded, and minced
- 8 scallions, thinly sliced (divided)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup (about 5 ounces) fine yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup (about 5 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons honey, plus more for serving
- 2 eggs
- 10 ounces (about 1 1/4 cup) cultured buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for oiling pan or griddle
- 4 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
Directions
- Heat butter, bacon, and 1 tablespoon water in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until water evaporates and bacon begins to crisp and brown, about 5 minutes. Add corn, increase heat to high, and cook, stirring, until tender and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add jalapeño peppers and half of scallions and cook, stirring, until aromatic, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a plate to cool slightly.
The sauteed veggie mixture
2. Combine cornmeal, flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, baking powder, baking soda, honey, eggs, buttermilk, 2 tablespoons oil, half of corn/bacon mixture, and half of remaining scallions in a large bowl and stir and fold until no dry streaks of flour remain but batter is still lumpy. Fold in cheese cubes.
3. Heat griddle or large non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add a small amount of oil to the griddle and spread with a paper towel. Ladle 1/4 to 1/2 cup of batter onto the griddle, spreading it into an even circle. Repeat to fit as many pancakes as you can. Spread a 1 tablespoon-sized portion of the bacon/corn mixture on top of each pancake.
Nice color!
4. Cook undisturbed until edges of pancakes begin to set and bubbles start to break the top surface, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Carefully flip the pancakes with a thin, flexible spatula and cook on second side until golden brown and completely set, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet in a warm oven while you cook the remaining pancakes. Serve, garnished with remaining scallions and drizzled with honey.
Smitten Kitchen's Corn Fritters
-Recipe by Deb Perelman, notes in italics are mine.
Ingredients:
- 6 ears of corn (about 3 cups corn)
- 4 scallions, both white and greens finely chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped herbs of your choice (I used parsley)
- About 1 cup (6 ounces) grated sharp cheddar
- Optional: About 1 cup (8 ounces) sliced black olives (I had this leftover can that needed using so I drained them and tossed them in)
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus 2 more tablespoons if needed
- Olive or a neutral oil for frying (I used vegetable oil)
Shuck corn and stand the first stalk in a large bowl. Use a sharp knife to cut the kernels from the corn into the bowl, then run the back of your knife up and down the stalk to release as much “milk” as possible into the bowl. Repeat with remaining ears. It’s okay if you get a little more or a little less than 3 cups of corn.
Add scallions, herbs, cheese, and many grinds of black pepper and stir to evenly combine. Taste for seasoning; I usually find I needed more salt and pepper. Add the eggs and use a fork or spoon to stir until they’re all broken up and evenly coat the corn mixture. Add 1 cup of flour and stir to thoroughly coat. My mixture at this point looked precisely like egg salad, to give you an idea of what you’re looking for: mostly kernels and just a little visible batter to bind it.
Corn fritter batter
A scoop of it should hold its shape unless pressed down; if yours does not, add the remaining flour.
Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once hot and shimmering, add your first scoop of corn fritter batter and press it gently to flatten it.
Corn fritter prep and frying
Corn fritters cook quickly so keep an eye on them. When the underside is a deep golden brown, flip and cook to the same color on the second side.
Drain on a paper towel, sprinkling on more salt. When it’s cool enough to try, taste and adjust the seasonings of the remaining batter if needed.
Cook remaining fritters in the same manner, adding more oil as needed. Try to get them to the table before finishing them.
Corn fritters draining
I would be terribly remiss if I did not include a chowdah in this corn-fabulation;-)
My hard-working Dutch oven full of golden corn chowder!
What's for Dinner? Chowdah
This is a nice spin on it:
Corn Chowder Salad
All the flavors of corn chowder in a salad!
I just had to add this video that estreya brought to my attention. Prepare to giggle:
I will have more recipes to share in tonight’s What’s for Dinner? post at 4:30pm Pacific too! HERE
So what is going on in your garden this week?
