I did not intend to make these today but I realised this morning that I had a fridge full of corn and needed to offload a couple of ears at least. I also had a play date planned for my daughters that involved two little boys with enormous appetites. So clearly it was meant to be.
Making them reminded me of one of my favourite breakfast haunts in Sydney, Australia. The place was called Bills and Bill (Granger) served his corn fritters with bacon and a salsa of finely chopped tomato and avocado. It was always a toss up between that and his ricotta pancakes with honeycomb butter- he is famous for both and both are amazing.
Whilst the corn is obviously the staple ingredient in these little fried numbers, the addition of coriander (cilantro) and capsicum (red pepper) really bring the corn to life. Aside from playdates, these are sensational at breakfast with a side of bacon or roasted tomatoes and I have also served them as a mid afternoon, footy watching snack with my roast tomato sauce. An oldy but a goody!
1 cup plain (all purpose) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
4 corn cobs
1/2 red capsicum (pepper), diced
4 spring onions (scallions), finely sliced
90 grams coriander (cilantro), chopped
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Sift the flour, baking powder and paprika into a large bowl, stir in the sugar and salt and make a well in the centre. In a seperate bowl whisk together the eggs and milk. Gradually add the liquid ingredients to the dry, stirring to ensure you have a stiff, lump free batter. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
With a sharp knife, cut the corn kernals away from the cobs and put the kernels in a large bowl. Add the capsicum, spring onion and coriander. Toss to combine.
Just before serving, slowly work the batter into the fresh ingredients. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large non stick frypan over a medium heat. Using 1 tablespoon at a time, drop spoonfulls of batter onto the hot surface. cook for a few minutes or until the underside is golden, then flip and cook for further two minutes until quite crisp. Remove from the pan and keep warm while you make the remainder of the fritters, adding more oil when necessary. You should make around 30.
Notes: Don’t be tempted to use canned corn – they will not be half as good.
Source: Michele Cranston
© 2011, Michelle. All rights reserved.
