This is a tasty and summery way to use all that golden, warm-weather crop.

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  • Yields: 12 cakes
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Total: 40 mins
  • Active: 40 mins

Ingredients (14)

For the cakes:

  • 2 2/3 cups fresh corn kernels, cut from 3 large corn cobs
  • 1 small red onion, chopped
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • Sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Vegetable oil, for frying

For the avocado salsa:

  • 2 ripe avocados, stones removed and diced
  • 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
  • 2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions
  • Dash Tabasco Sauce, optional

Instructions

For the cakes:

  1. Heat the oven to 250°F.
  2. Place 2 cups of the corn kernels and the onion, eggs, cilantro, flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper in a food processor and process until combined.
  3. Place in a large bowl, add the remaining corn, and stir to combine.
  4. Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a nonstick frying pan over a medium to high heat. When the oil is hot, drop 2 heaped tablespoons of mixture per sweetcorn cake into the pan and cook in batches of three for 1 minute each side. Drain on paper towels and keep warm in the oven while you are making the rest of the cakes. Serve with the avocado salsa.

For the avocado salsa:

  1. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and stir very gently to combine.

Beverage pairing: Au Bon Climat Chardonnay Santa Barbara County, California. Corn and Chardonnay have a great affinity for one another. But this a lean corn recipe, where its inherent sweetness is mediated by cilantro, scallions, and avocado salsa, and the most apt Chardonnay would match those qualities. This one from cool Santa Barbara County has apple and lemon notes, fresh, firm acidity, and underlying minerality.