Corn Cakes with Cilantro Lime Cream

Oh the joys of the sweet summer produce!  The stores are full of sweet corn right now..... the ears are fat and juicy and seemingly ready to burst.  That also means that this is when they are inexpensive and abundant - which is fabulous news for consumers looking for a great deal.  My daughter loves helping me pick out the ears of corn and is always up for a new recipe involving one of her favorite vegetables.  I actually found this recipe in a Diabetic Living magazine.  It looked so good I knew I must try it, so I brought the magazine home and adapted it a just bit to suit my tastes.

You gotta love a recipe where you can just dump everything together, pan fry it for a few minutes, and have something this lovely come out of it...right?  I think I need an "amen" here!  And even if I can't hear you over the computer, Lily proclaimed "these are amazing!"  So I'll take that any day of the week.  :)

#sidedish #appetizer #glutenfree #cleaneating #kidfriendly

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Ingredients for corn cakes:

• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• can use #glutenfree alternative like crushed rice chex cereal or GF breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 2 cups fresh corn kernels
• 1/2 cup grated carrot (1 medium)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped sweet bell peppers (mixed colors)
• canola, coconut or light olive oil for pan frying

Ingredients for cilantro lime cream:

• 3/4 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt 
• 4 tsp fresh squeezed lime juice
• 2 tsp milk
• 2 Tbsp thinly sliced green onion
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Step-by-Step:
I will begin by making the cilantro lime cream first.  That way, the flavors will have time to marry together.  Also, when these babies are done... I want to be able to eat them hot... and not have to wait on making the dip.

In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients and set aside.  That's it.  Adjust the seasoning to your liking if you insist on making it more complicated.  :)

3/4 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt + 4 tsp fresh squeezed lime juice.  *You could also use sour cream if you don't have Greek yogurt available.

2 tsp milk + 2 Tbsp thinly sliced green onion

3/4 cup fresh cilantro + 1/2 tsp black pepper

Here's our dip!  

Okay, lets move on to the corn cakes.  The thing to do here is to get all your ingredients prepped first.  After that, all there is to do is dump it all together.  So chop, dice, measure, and grate before you get going, and this will be a piece of cake.

2 cups fresh corn (about 2 nice ears of corn should do it)

In a large bowl, combine Panko bread crumbs, cornmeal, and salt.  Then whisk in the milk, eggs and egg whites until combined.  Not only will all these eggs hold our corn cakes together, but we are upping the protein content tremendously (and the two extra egg whites have zero fat)!

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs + 1/2 cup corn meal

1/2 tsp table salt + 1/4 cup milk

2 whole eggs, lightly beaten + 2 egg whites lightly beaten

Whisk together.

Stir in the grated carrot, sweet peppers, black pepper, and corn niblets that you have cut off of the cob.  If you don't have fresh corn available, perhaps you could try frozen, but I don't think I would recommend the canned version.  If you were feeling a bit adventurous, and were making these just for adults, I think some chopped, fire roasted jalapenos would be a phenomenal additional to this recipe!

1/2 cup grated carrot  + 1/2 cup chopped sweet bell peppers (mixed colors)

 2 cups fresh corn niblets, cut from the cob (obviously, ha ha).

1/2 tsp black pepper

canola oil for pan frying

Let's cook!

Add a tablespoon or so of canola oil in the bottom of a heavy pan.  Today I chose a 14" cast enamel pan.

I think this would work well in a nonstick pan, or a black iron skillet, also. 

Once the oil gets hot, portion out about 1/4 cup of the batter onto the pan over medium high heat, into individual portions.

Cook about 6 minutes, flipping them only once.  Then repeat with the remaining batter, adding more canola oil as needed.  

You may want to turn the heat down to more of a medium once the pan really heats up.  You know your pan/stove combination best. 

 

Serve with the cilantro lime cream on the side.  But of course, if you don't care for cilantro or something like that, feel free to substitute something else!  It's your dish - knock it out of the park!!  :)

Food Nerd Notes:  A reader has pointed out to me that these are a variation of Indonesian corn cakes called Perkedel Jagung, which just happens to be one of the most popular foods in Indonesia.  How cool is that?!  It's apparently one of those things where every Indonesian family has a slightly different recipe, with various theories on how to make them. Some people add spring onions, while others add kaffir lime leaves. Some add peeled shrimp, while some, like this one, just skip it for the vegetarian version. 

I hope you enjoyed this simple and delicious recipe!
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Written Method:

Begin by making the cilantro lime cream first.  That way, the flavors will have time to marry together.  Also, when the corn cakes are done, you won't have to wait on making the dip.  In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients and set aside.  That's it.  Adjust the seasoning to your liking.  

Okay, lets move on to the corn cakes.  The thing to do here is to get all your ingredients prepped first.  After that, all there is to do is dump it all together.  So chop, dice, measure, and grate before you get going.

In a large bowl, combine Panko bread crumbs, cornmeal, and salt.  Then whisk in the milk, eggs and egg whites until combined.  Not only will all these eggs hold our corn cakes together, but we are upping the protein content tremendously (and the two extra egg whites have zero fat)!

Stir in the grated carrot, sweet peppers, black pepper, and corn niblets that you have cut off of the cob. 

Add a tablespoon or so of canola oil in the bottom of a heavy pan.  Once the oil gets hot, portion out about 1/4 cup of the batter onto the pan over medium high heat, into individual portions.  Cook about 6 minutes, flipping them only once.  Then repeat with the remaining batter, adding more canola oil as needed.  You may want to turn the heat down to more of a medium once the pan really heats up.  You know your pan/stove combination best. 

 

Serve with the cilantro lime cream on the side.  But of course, if you don't care for cilantro or something like that, feel free to substitute something else!  It's your dish - knock it out of the park!!  :)