Sunday, August 12, 2012

Corn Cakes with Tomato Avocado Relish

The girls I work with and I have decided to have a weekly dinner night! I could not be more excited! It means I get to cook, be social, and have a chance to relax during the week. It's absolutely perfect. The wine doesn't hurt either :)

the table setting. aren't my NEW plates on my NEW table super cute and classy?!?!


I hosted prepared the first dinner. Since it's just the girls, I figured I would make a light and girly recipe. Ya know, the ones that if you cooked them for your dad or boyfriend (not that I have that issue, thank God) they would be like... "uuhhh so... that was an okay appetizer but where's my meat and potatoes?".

I chose these corn cakes because corn is on super sale right now and it's ridiculously sweet and delicious. I think these were perfect for a dinner salad because they were hearty enough to fill you up without weighing you down. We used the relish and a sriracha as dressing. I loved how the sweet corn and the creamy avocado contrasted with the bite of the red onion and spicy sriracha.

The original recipe called for frying them in oil. I'm not huge on frying things, especially if I can figure out how to bake the item or cook it in a healthier way. But I tried to fry them and it just didn't work well. My stove is a little lopsided and heats unevenly. I ended up burning the first batch, melting my spatula, and smoking up my apartment. Plus, Arizona is just too darn hot to be frying things in your house. So I quickly washed out my frying pan, sprayed it with cooking spray, and "fried" the rest of the cakes that way. They came out much better and healthier! I love when mistakes work out for the better :) Unlike my chocolate pie from yesterday's post...

Also, the patties freeze well so cook up a bunch and toss them in the freezer. Then you can just pull them out, reheat them, and toss them over some spinach for a quick and tasty salad!


Corn Cakes with Avocado and Tomato Relish (12 cakes)
For the corn cakes:
  • 3 large ears of corn, shucked
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup cornmeal
  • ¼ cup red onion, finely diced
  • ¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 tbsp. half and half (I used fat free)
  • 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
  • cooking spray, for frying
For the relish:
  • 2 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped
  • ¼ cup of red onion
  • 1 tbsp. minced fresh basil
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • Juice of half a lime
  • 1½ tsp. olive oil
  • 1½ tsp. white wine vinegar
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 ripe avocado, pitted and diced

  • Sriracha, for serving (optional)
  •  Spinach, for serving

1.  Cut the corn kernels off of the cobs and place in a large bowl.  Place 2 cups of the corn kernels in the food processor and pulse several times, until the corn is slightly pureed but still chunky.  Scrape the mixture into the bowl with the remaining corn kernels.  Add the flour, cornmeal, onion, basil, baking powder, and baking soda to the bowl.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir to mix well.  Add the eggs, half and half, and butter, and stir just to combine.
2.  To make the salsa, combine all of the ingredients except the avocado in a medium bowl and mix well to combine.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 2 days.  Just before serving, mix in the avocado.
3.  Place a large skillet over medium heat.  Spray the pan with cooking spray. Scoop the batter into the skillet a heaping tablespoon at a time, cooking the cakes in batches of 4 or 5 so that they are not touching.  Cook 1-2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Transfer the cooked cakes to a plate and repeat with the remaining batter.
4.  Serve immediately topped with the relish and drizzled with sriracha, if desired.


the relish

batter


sizzling corn cakes
corn cake salad :)


No comments:

Post a Comment