Twist on Mexican street corn: Gluten-free corn and zucchini fritters using corn flour topped with a mango and avocado salsa.
These little guys totally rock for a small, summertime dinner party. Just throw the batter together a few hours ahead (although it doesn't have to be made that far in advance), cover the bowl with some plastic, and bring it back out 30 minutes before you plan to cook up the fritters. Just be sure to bring the batter to room temperature for an even cooking. Form little mounds in your hands, gently place them on a lightly oiled skillet, and you're good to go.
These would also be a perfect dish to make with kids of almost any age, although for younger kids you'll want to slice the corn kernels from the cobs yourself, and maybe pre-grate the zucchini and yellow squash.
Mexican Street Corn is grilled corn on the cob slathered with mayo or sour cream and then sprinkled with cheese, lime juice, chile powder, salt and pepper. These little fritters remind me a little of that with this lime juice dressed salad, without the mayo and sour cream. But it you want, stir a little chile powder into some sour cream and put a dollop on top. Other condiment options are my Avocado Cream, an artichoke bruscetta topping, a tomatillo salsa.
Or you can just top them with this avocado, mango and kale salad like I did. It's all good.
As a technical note, I had more photos of these beautiful little fritters, but I downloaded them onto my computer, erased them from my camera, and then my hard drive died. Completely. It's off getting a transplant now, and I'm having to use my husband's mac until it's released from the mac hospital. Amazingly, I had taken one last series of photos at the last minute before putting my camera away and didn't take the time to download them on my computer. (Big. Relieved. WHEW!) You food bloggers out there will completely understand my little panic attack when I realized the photos could not be retrieved, ever, from my computer. (Drama in the life of a food blogger.)
Wimpy Tips
(Sigh). If you must, scallops are fantastic with corn. You can go with the big meaty ones and serve on the side, or get some smaller bay scallops, sear in a hot pan, and toss into the omnivores' salads.
Gluten-Free Mexican Street Corn Fritters with Kale, Avocado and Mango Salad
Ingredients
Corn and Zucchini Fritters
- 2 cup sweet white corn 2 ears
- 1 cup grated zucchini using the largest holes on a grater
- ½ cup grated yellow crookneck squash using largest holes on a grater
- 1 ½ tablespoon minced jalapeño about ½ large pepper, seeded
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced green onions white and green parts
- 1 ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoon thinly sliced and chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon thinly sliced and chopped fresh mint
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro or Italian parsley, if you prefer
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano preferably freshly dried
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup cheese I used a mixture of cheddar and Jack cheeses
- 3 large eggs well beaten
- 1 ½ cup corn flour
- 3 T extra-virgin olive oil
Kale-Avocado-Mango Salad
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 mango diced
- 1 Fresno chile finely minced (optional)
- 1 green onion thinly sliced
- 2 cup thinly sliced kale leaves
- 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
Corn and Zucchini Fritters
- Slice the corn kernels from the cobs using a sharp knife. There are a couple of ways of doing this that work well. You can position the ears upright in a large bowl and slice the kernels into the bowl, or lay the shucked ears down on a cutting board and slice along the right side of each ear, turning them a little at a time (my personal favorite).
- Add the zucchini, yellow squash, jalapeño, green onions, garlic, basil, mint, cilantro, oregano, salt, and cheeses. Toss well with a large spoon or your hands.
- Stir in the beaten eggs and corn flour. It won't look like a batter as it's mostly vegetables and cheese. The idea is to have just enough flour and egg to hold the fritter together during cooking.
- Let it all relax in the bowl for 20 minutes so that the egg is absorbed by the corn flour. (This is a good time to make the salad.)
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil In a large heavy pan over medium heat. You don't want more than just a slick of oil for these fritters. Working in batches, scoop about ⅓ cup of batter into your palm. Form the batter into a ball using both of your hands, about the size of a golf ball. Place it on the pan and gently press it down just enough to flatten the top. Repeat with enough fritters to be able to easily flip them - I cook only 3 at a time.
- Allow to cook about 5 minutes until the bottom edges just begin to turn brown. Using a flat spatula, flip them over. At this point they should hold together very well. Cook for another 4 - 5 minutes. The fritters should be lightly browned on both sides.
- Remove to a plate lined with paper towels, cover with foil to keep warm, and repeat the process with another tablespoon of oil.
- These fritters are best served warm. Top with the salad.
Kale-Avocado-Mango Salad
- Combine the avocado, mango, chile, green onion and kale in a large bowl.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the lime juice and salt until the salt dissolves. Whisk in the oil.
- Pour over the salad and toss, using your hands.
Librarian Lavender
What a great recipe! Too bad you lost the photos! My computers constantly crash and not everything can always be saved... I hope you can make it again and it doesn't sound too bad to eat this once more 🙂
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much! And yes, the photo loss was disappointing, but it's not my first time to lose photos, word docs, or entire blog posting when my mac hiccups. And we'll definitely be making them again :-). This was a vegetarian dish Carnivorous Maximus (my husband) really, really liked. Yay!
Carnivorous Maximus
Don't often comment on my wife's blog, but have to give these little guys a big thumbs up. Tasty! CM
Rosemary
Hey -- that's a great endorsement! I've also passed this along to a GF friend who thought it looks great and I'm adding to my list to make SOON!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Oh yay! I'm not GF myself, but I like to highlight things that are usually GF. I just got The Homemade Flour Cookbook and am really looking forward to experimenting with other flours. Thanks for passing this onto your friend, Rosemary!
cheri
Hi Susan, be still my heart, these look amazing. You even got a thumbs up from Carnivorous Maximus. So sorry about your computer, I'm lost without mine. (sounds kind of sad, doesn't it)
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I've been totally lost, Cheri! Crazy, I know. But it's like my brains were gone 🙂
lizthechef
Such a creative recipe, very much a "Susan recipe" - delicious, original and beautifully photographed.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much Liz! Unfortunately most of the photos I took were lost in the hard drive crashing. Luckily I had these left over....
Sandi Gaertner (@sandigtweets)
Absolutely drooling over these!! Thank you for making these gluten free so they are easy for me to enjoy!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I'm so glad!!! I have a close friend who's trying to go gluten free for health reasons, and I'm trying to be more aware of places where I can do some easy substitutions 🙂
apuginthekitchen
Love these fritters and OMG with that kale avocado and mango salad, totally delicious. Thats my favorite kind of meal.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
These were really so good, Suzanne!! You've gotta try them 🙂
Choc Chip Uru
This recipe looks delicious, I am pretty sure the fritters are perfect for a midnight snack! 😀
And sorry to hear about the photo loss, it has happened to me before so I know the feels!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Yes, this is a shared pain for all us food bloggers, CCU!
Oui, Chef
I don't need to cook gluten free, but I absolutely NEED to try these great looking fritters!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Steve! I don't need GF either, but it seemed like a good way to go with corn flour since they were corn fritters 🙂
Terra
I so want to make this recipe! I have been trying to include kale in my meals. They look so hearty and full of healthy love! Yum, Hugs, Terra
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I've made these three times in the last month, Terra! They just really hit the spot - and they were a big hit at a small dinner party. Hope you give them a try 🙂