Quick Corn Fritters with Fresh Avocado Salsa (Bill Grangers)

Quick Corn Fritters with Fresh Avocado Salsa (Bill Grangers) cook up golden in a hot skillet after just 1 1/2 minutes on each side. The batter gets its deep flavor from pureeing a portion of the kernels with the eggs first, followed by gently folding in the flour and whole corn.

Fresh and pantry corn options

The batter takes 3 cups of corn kernels. Cutting the pieces straight off of 3 large corn cobs yields the best texture and flavor. If fresh cobs are hard to find, you still have options. Thawed frozen corn works perfectly as a substitute. Canned corn will also do the job, as long as you drain all the liquid out first.

Fresh corn cobs often make a mess on the cutting board. You can stop kernels from flying across the counter by using two bowls. Place a small inverted dish inside a large, wide bowl. You stand the flat end of the cob on the small dish. When you slice down with your knife, the large bowl catches every piece.

Mixing the wet and dry ingredients

The batter uses a two-step mixing method to build the right texture. First, you place two cups of the corn kernels into a mixing bowl. You add one small chopped red onion, two large eggs, and a quarter cup of lightly packed cilantro leaves and stems. The eggs should weigh about 2 oz (55 - 60 g) each. You season the bowl with a half teaspoon of kosher cooking salt and some freshly ground black pepper. You can swap the kosher salt for one teaspoon of sea salt flakes.

You run a stick blender straight through this bowl. The goal is to puree a large portion of the kernels while leaving the mixture a little lumpy. This broken-down corn infuses the entire wet base with sweet corn liquid.

Next, you add the remaining one cup of whole corn kernels to the bowl. You also dump in one cup of plain all-purpose flour and one teaspoon of baking powder. You fold these ingredients together with a spatula. Stop mixing the moment the dry flour disappears. Extra stirring will overwork the gluten in the flour. This makes your finished fritters tough instead of tender.

Frying the batches

You need a wide skillet and a medium high heat setting. You warm one tablespoon of olive oil in the pan. Wait until the oil shimmers before you add the batter. You will need a total of three tablespoons of olive oil to get through all the batches.

You scoop heaped tablespoons of batter into the skillet for each fritter. Leave space between them so they have room to spread. You fry the first side for 1 1/2 minutes. You flip them and cook the second side for another 1 1/2 minutes until both sides look golden brown.

You will have to cook the batter in several rounds. Turn your oven to a very low heat before you begin frying. You can transfer the cooked fritters to a baking tray and slide them into the warm oven. This holds them at a good serving temperature while you finish cooking the raw batter.

The avocado and tomato topping

The fresh topping provides an acidic contrast to the fried corn batter. You need one large ripe avocado or two small ones. You pit the avocado and cut the flesh into small dice. You also seed and dice one and a half tomatoes. This gives you about three-quarters of a cup of tomato pieces.

You place the avocado and tomato in a bowl. You add two tablespoons of lemon or lime juice and two tablespoons of roughly chopped cilantro. You also add two tablespoons of finely chopped spring onions. You can use scallions or red onion for this step as well. You season the bowl with a quarter teaspoon of kosher cooking salt, black pepper, and an optional dash of Tabasco sauce. You can swap the kosher salt for a half teaspoon of sea salt flakes.

You must toss these ingredients with a gentle hand. Heavy mixing will mash the soft avocado into a paste. You want the topping to stay chunky.

Plating the meal

You can present this dish as an appetizer, a breakfast, a brunch, or a lunch. Set out your plates so they are ready to hold the stacks.

You take the warm fritters from the oven. You stack three fritters in the center of each plate. You spoon a generous amount of the chunky avocado salsa right over the hot stack. You can finish the plates by scattering a few whole cilantro leaves over the salsa.