Home cooking: Corn Fritters with Avocado Salsa

 

We are now into our fifth week of Covid-19 lockdown here in Sydney and amongst some of the things I miss about regular life, one of them would certainly include going out for brunch to indulge in well cooked eggs, sourdough toast and catching up with friends over coffee. 

Corn fritters is also one of my favourite brunch foods, though I have to admit I don't see it particularly often on brunch menus here in Sydney. The best one I've had in Sydney that I can recollect was at Cook and Archies in Surry Hills, but theirs was a zucchini and corn fritter. Over the past weekends, I've been trying to improve my brunch cooking skills at home, and finally by my fourth attempt this past month I've finally hit upon an easy recipe where the fritters turned out crunchy yet light and fluffy. My previous attempts at making corn fritters had sadly ended up in some rubbery texture resembling a plastic soft chewing toy you might give to your dog to play with. 

The recipe I'm sharing here is adapted from Woolworths Fresh Idea Magazine, also available online if you do a google search. It's fairly simple in its flavours but delicious nonetheless. Other recipes that I've tried out previously had included some herbs and spices so I have added them here as optional additional ingredients. The recipe had advised a prep time of 10 minutes and cooking time of 15 minutes and I would say it was fairly accurate (I hate it when recipes tell me I would be able to cook a dish in 15 minutes and it in fact it takes twice as long!). I would serve this with poached eggs, smoked salmon and a rocket or spinach leaf side salad. I am still perfecting my poached egg cookings skills so haven't included it in my breakfast today but I'll keep practising - I'm sure there will still be plenty of lockdown weekends at home for the next few weeks.

Let me know if you end up trying this recipe and how it went for you! What would be some of your favourite brunch foods? If you happen to know any cafes in your city that serves great corn fritters, please share down in comments below and I shall embark on a corn fritter appreciation journey once we are out of lockdown!

Corn Fritters with Avocado Salsa (adapted from Woolworths Fresh Ideas Magazine)

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

Serves: 8 medium sized fritters (four people)

Ingredients:

a) Avocado salsa:

• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• 1 roma tomato or similar, diced (*we used cherry tomatoes that we've been growing on our balcony)
• 1 lime
• Optional: coriander

b) Corn fritter mixture:

• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1 tablespoon stock powder salt reduced chicken
• 500 g corn kernels (or 2 corn cobs)
• Chives, finely chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup lite milk
• Optional: coriander seed powder, ground cumin powder, salt and pepper

Method:

1. Avocado salsa - combine avocado, onion and tomato. Pour over lime juice, toss to combine and set aside for serving once corn fritters are cooked.

2. Corn fritter mix - mix flour and stock powder in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Combine eggs and milk in separate bowl/jug. Stir in corn and chives to egg mixture. Pour in egg mixture and stir until combined. 

3. Cooking - heat a little oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heap. Pour four 1/4 cup (60 ml) portions of corn mixture around the pan, allowing room for spreading. Cook 1 to 2 minutes on each side until golden and cooked through. Transfer to plate, cover to keep warm. Repeat, in batches, with remaining corn mixture. Serve with avocado salsa, or your choice of toppings such as bacon, smoked salmon,  poached egg or rocket and spinach leaf salad. 

Tip: We didn't combine our avocado and tomato to make a salsa but just served it on the side. You can definitely put your own spin to your dish the way you like it. 

Enjoy! and hope you are staying well during these difficult times.