Bill Granger’s Corn Fritters

Bill Granger’s Corn Fritters with avocado salsa, crispy bacon, and roasted cherry tomatoes – perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or any meal in between.  Jump to Recipe 

These corn fritters are what I wish I could have eaten for dinner tonight. However, I am now back in Melbourne, having just finished my second day of university for 2015. Is it a bad sign that I am already feeling a little swamped? Don’t get me wrong, I am loving being back at college: catching up with people I haven’t seen for the past three months and getting my first car (!!) and the extra freedom that comes with it have been particular highlights. But my room is still a bit of a mess from my hasty unpack over the weekend after flying in late Saturday night, we had an 8 hour day of uni on Monday where we were inundated with a huge amount of respiratory anatomy and physiology, I have started an extra Diploma in International Studies (which although seriously interesting, does add to the workload), and am trying to fit in maintaining this blog, keeping fit, and being involved in college life (hello, late night Wednesday and Thursday!) – hopefully easier done than said. I am sure I will adjust pretty quickly to the hectic lifestyle here, but for tonight I will keep this short and leave you with this drool-worthy recipe, courtesy of my favourite Australian chef, Bill Granger.

I first ate these at one of Bill Granger’s Sydney cafes and immediately decided that I needed to track down the recipe for myself. This was on the Brick family menu frequently this summer – quick and easy, healthy, fresh, utilising seasonal ingredients and tasting amazing (it even received the seal of approval from my notoriously picky younger brothers) – it ticks all the boxes. Perfect for breakfast, lunch, brunch, or any meal in between. To keep them light, the corn fritters use just enough batter to hold them together, resulting in the hot juicy corn kernels, flavoured with fresh coriander and parsley, just popping open in your mouth, contrasting perfectly with the lime and chilli avocado salsa, crispy bacon and slow roasted cherry tomatoes. If there is one more meal you make before corn leaves our shelves for another year, this is it.

Print

Bill Granger's Corn Fritters

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

A single mixture makes about 6 fritters, depending on size, and will generally serve 3 normal appetites, or 2 big appetites: I made a triple when I was cooking for 7 people (including 3 hungry boys!). Leftovers are perfect for lunch the next day - either cook them at the same time and reheat, or keep the extra batter in the fridge for fresh fritters. I have also served it with smoked salmon rather than bacon, which also works very well.

Author: Claudia Brick

Ingredients

Fritters

• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups fresh corn kernels , cut from the cob
• 1/2 cup diced red capsicum
• 1/2 cup sliced spring onions
• 1/3 cup coriander and parsley , chopped (I used mainly coriander here)
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Avocado Salsa

• 2 avocados , peeled and stones removed
• 1/3 cup coriander , chopped
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 mild red chilli , deseeded and finely chopping (or more/less to taste)
• 3 tablespoons finely diced red onion
• salt and pepper to taste

To serve

• 4 rashers of bacon
• 1 x 250g punnet of cherry tomatoes , halved
• baby spinach , washed and dried
• salt and pepper to taste
• crusty ciabatta bread (optional)
• olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place cherry tomatoes, cut side up, on a baking paper lined oven tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until tender, bubbling, and starting to brown (see photo above)
2. For the avocado salsa, mash the avocado roughly with a fork and mix in the remaining ingredients. Taste for seasoning.
3. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and paprika, Stir in the sugar.
4. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Add to the flour and whisk until it forms a smooth batter.
5. In another large bowl, stir together the corn, capsicum, spring onion, coriander, and parsley.
6. Add just enough batter to the corn mixture to bind it all together (I usually have about 1/4 cup left over). Adding all the batter can make the fritters a bit heavy. If there is enough left, you can use it the next day to make more for lunch! Or just add more corn/capsicum/spring onion/coriander to use it all up. Or throw it out - up to you.
7. Heat the oil in a large heavy based frying pan (or two, to get it all done at once). Drop a few tablespoons of batter into the pan for each fritter, spreading them out with your spoon and tidying the edges. Cook over a medium heat until browned, then flip and repeat on the other side. It doesn't matter if this takes a few minutes - you are giving the corn kernels a chance to cook. If the heat is too high, you risk burning the outside while leaving the batter in the middle uncooked. Keep the fritters warm while cooking the rest.
8. Near the end of cooking the fritters, add the bacon to another pan and cook over a low-medium heat, turning frequently, until brown and cooked to desired crispiness. Lay bacon on a paper towel to drain while finishing off the fritters.
9. To assemble, lay a fritter on each plate. Divide the bacon and roasted cherry tomatoes over each and add a handful baby spinach and another fritter. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Serve the avocado salsa and crusty bread on the side.