Recipe: Corn-chile fritters with Southwest flavor
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| These fritters are full of whole corn yet light and fluffy. (Photos: Debbie Arrington) |
October is the end of fresh corn season. Big ears are packed with full-flavored kernels.
These savory fritters make the most of sweet, chewy corn cut off the cob. (It takes about two ears to produce 2 cups of kernels.) The batter is similar to a cornmeal hush puppy with 2 teaspoons of baking powder; the fritters expand rapidly in the pan.
Giving these fritters Southwest flavor are four C’s: Corn, chiles, cheddar and chives. That combination is a great addition to cornbread, too.
Good for brunch, lunch or dinner, these fritters are served warm with salsa and sour cream, if desired. Surprisingly light and fluffy, they’re tasty plain, too.
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Fresh corn season winds down but isn't gone yet.
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Corn-chile fritters
Makes about 10 fritters
Ingredients:
¾ cup cornmeal
½ cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
¾ cup milk
1 large egg
2 cups corn kernels
¼ cup chile pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoon chives, finely chopped
½ cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Shortening or vegetable oil as needed
Instructions:
In a large bowl, mix together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
Beat together milk and egg; add to dry ingredients. Mix together to make a thick, but smooth batter. Add a tablespoon or two of milk if necessary. Stir in corn kernels, chile pepper, chives and cheese.
In a large, deep and heavy skillet or saucepan, melt shortening or heat oil over medium high heat. Use enough shortening or oil to reach 2 inches deep. Make sure skillet or pan sides are high enough that hot oil doesn’t splatter out of pan. Bring melted shortening or oil up to 325-350 degrees F.
Fry fritters in batches. Don’t overcrowd the pan. Drop fritter batter into hot oil by large spoonfuls spaced apart; fritters will expand while frying. Fry until golden brown on both sides, about 5 to 6 minutes total, turning once.
Remove from oil with slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels. Eat immediately or keep warm in a 250-degree F. oven.
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Salsa is a great accompaniment to the fritters.
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Serve with salsa and sour cream if desired.
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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
WINTER:
Jan. 13: Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Jan. 6: Hints for choosing tomato seeds
Dec. 30: Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees
Dec. 23: Is edible gardening possible indoors?
FALL
Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden
Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it
Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come
Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying
Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?
Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden
Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden
Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers
Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air
Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets
Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty
Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?
Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest
SUMMER
Sept. 16: Time to shut it down?
Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch
Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning
Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?
Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you
Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water
Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers
July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?
July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty
July 15: Does this plant need water?
July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions
July 1: How to grow summer salad greens
June 24: Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
SPRING
June 17: Help pollinators help your garden
June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests
June 3: Make your own compost
May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?
May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
WINTER
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
March 4: Potatoes from the garden
Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting
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Garden checklist for week of Jan. 18
Make the most of these rain-free breaks. Your garden needs you!
* Transplant pansies, violas, calendulas, English daisies, snapdragons and fairy primroses.
* In the vegetable garden, plant fava beans, head lettuce, mustard, onion sets, radicchio and radishes.
* Plant bare-root asparagus and root divisions of rhubarb.
* Plant bare-root roses and fruit trees.
* In the bulb department, plant callas, anemones, ranunculus and gladiolus for bloom from late spring into summer.
* Browse through seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.
* Prune, prune, prune. Now is the time to cut back most deciduous trees and shrubs. The exceptions are spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs.
* Now is the time to prune fruit trees, except cherry and apricot trees. Clean up leaves and debris around the trees to prevent the spread of disease.
* Prune roses, even if they’re still trying to bloom. Strip off any remaining leaves, so the bush will be able to put out new growth in early spring.
* Prune Christmas camellias (Camellia sasanqua), the early-flowering varieties, after their bloom. They don’t need much, but selective pruning can promote bushiness, upright growth and more bloom next winter. Give them an acid-type fertilizer. But don’t fertilize your Japonica camellias until after they finish blooming next month. Doing that while camellias are in bloom may cause them to drop unopened buds.
* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs. Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.
* Divide daylilies, Shasta daisies and other perennials.
* Cut back and divide chrysanthemums.
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