Super Sides Me

Because I love to blog, I'm trying all the new recipes I can so that I can write about them. This has included looking up new and interesting side dishes. Last night I picked out this recipe as an accompaniment to the Brunswick Stew. This was a neat twist on your ordinary cornbread recipe and though it dirtied a lot of dishes for the amount of food it produced, I had so much fun making it. I don't normally prepare anything that falls into the baking category, so the fact that I was making pancakes out of fresh vegetables was really exciting to me. If you make these, watch the pan carefully because they go from perfectly done to burnt in a matter of seconds. I almost considered halving the recipe since it said it produced 16 cakes, but don't be fooled. I only got 8 cakes out of them and they were pretty small so figure two to a person.

Fresh Corn Cakes

Dress up these cakes with salsa and sour cream and serve as an appetizer. They're also delicious as a side dish, simply smeared with butter. Prep and Cook Time: 30 minutes.

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Ingredients

1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. In a blender or food processor, pulse corn and green onions until chopped but not smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in 2 tbsp. oil and the egg yolks.

2. In another large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, and pepper. Add to corn mixture and mix thoroughly but gently.

3. In a large clean bowl, whisk or beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold into corn mixture.

4. In a large frying pan, heat 1 tbsp. oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, drop large spoonfuls of the corn mixture into pan (do not spread or flatten). Cook until edges begin to set and undersides are browned, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until cakes are browned and cooked through. Cook remaining batter the same way, adding oil as necessary. Serve hot.

Note: Nutritional analysis is per cake.

Yield

Makes 16 cakes

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 63(60% from fat); FAT 4.2g (sat 0.6g); PROTEIN 1.5g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; SODIUM 0.0mg; FIBER 0.0g; CARBOHYDRATE 0.0g

Lynn Lloyd, Santa Cruz, CA , Sunset, AUGUST 2007