Corn pancakes

A fast and easy lunch, and fairly adaptable.

I love corn fritters but sometimes find traditional ones with whole kernels in a flour batter a little stodgy. These are inspired by Isa Chandra Moskowitz's "Fresh Corn Johnnycakes", which are also awesome.

Corn pancakes


1 can sweetcorn kernels
Flour/ finely ground polenta (or a mixture)
1 tsp baking powder
salt
dash of vinegar
seasonings (optional - I like herb salt and paprika)
finely chopped spring onions

(optional add-ins: grated zucchini, fresh coriander)

Preheat a cast iron frying pan (or other reliable non-stick frying pan) on medium.

Dump the sweetcorn in a bowl and whizz for a few seconds with a stick blender so that some of the corn is mashed.

Add spring onions if using, seasonings and salt, vinegar and baking powder and stir thoroughly.

Add enough flour/polenta to glue it all together and adjust with water as necessary to make a scoopable batter. The thicker the batter, the thicker the cakes, I like mine on the relatively thin side.

Add a neutral vegetable oil to the pan. Scoop batter into frying pan to make fritter-sized pancakes and fry on each side until crispy.

Toppings

My favourite is layering the pancakes with a bed of rocket or spinach, topped with sliced avocado and red capsicum or tomato, drenched in a smoky chipotle salsa.

A more Kiwi topping would be vegan sour cream and sweet chili sauce.

Edamame polenta cake with fried tomatoes and herbed yoghurt dressing

This was inspired by a delicious lunch served at a conference I attended recently at Handels Högskolan in Gothenburg. As a vegan I wasn't sure what to expect - some conferences I've been to have had an entirely vegan buffet for all guests, while others have offered non-meat eaters simply a pile of unadulterated chick peas. This lunch was catered by the restaurant there, and I was pleasantly surprised when the staff handed everybody with dietary requirements (nut-free, vegan, gluten-free) a plate of perfectly prepared polenta studded with edamame beans. This was topped with fried tomato slices and fresh herbs.

Here is my recreation, with the addition of herbed yoghurt dressing:

1) Prepare polenta according to instructions on the package, using a good amount of stock and adding dried or fresh herbs if desired - I used thyme and oregano. (Sometimes I prepare my polenta fairly bland, if I'm using it as a base for spicy sauces. Here you want it to taste good on its own. No stocks are created equal, but I used 1.5 cubes in about as many litres of water.) About 10 mins before the end, add edamame beans. Not too many, you just want enough to stud the polenta and provide some protein. I used about 1.5 cups.

2) When polenta is done, pour into a lightly oiled casserole dish and leave to set (in the fridge once cooled enough). Can do this overnight.

3) Prep your herbed yoghurt dressing. This is in no way an exact science - pretty much just bung nice tasting things in thick soy yoghurt and you'll be good. We added what we had on hand: fresh dill, some chilli flakes, a little mustard and minced garlic.

4) Now fry your polenta. Cut into the set polenta into squares and fry each side in a little oil over medium high heat. Polenta can be a bit tricky to fry, so maybe have a go on a practice piece first. The golden rule is to have a high enough heat that it doesn't just go soggy (it should sizzle when it hits the pan), and you want to let it sit long enough to develop a proper crust, so don't try flipping it too early. I think Isa's instructions for frying tofu apply here too.

5) Top the fried polenta slices with fried/seared tomato slices and the yoghurt dressing. Serve with salad for a bright, delicious and reasonably healthy lunch.

Jerk Tofu

Tonight we had baked jerk tofu (and jerk veges), with rocket, polenta, and a spicy tomato sauce. The sauce and tofu marinade are adapted from the collection of caribbean recipes in the World Food Cafe 2 cookbook. I loved everything, especially the combo with creamy polenta. The tofu was exactly what I was craving, dense and flavourful.

 Jerk Tofu


Press the crap out of a block of tofu. Cut it into strips (not too thin, like at least a cm thick).

For the marinade, blend:
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 an inch peeled and grated ginger (or use a tsp ginger powder)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp soya sauce (or tamari)
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pepper

Marinate the tofu for at least half an hour, then bake on oiled aluminium foil until browned. Obviously grilling would be awesome too. We also drizzled the sauce over some staves of zucchini and capsicum, and chucked them in the oven with the tofu.

Spicy Tomato Sauce

Sautee 1 diced onion, 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped) in some oil until softened. Add 1-2 tsp dried thyme and some fresh chilli or a generous sprinkling of chilli flakes. Stir and let cook for a couple of minutes more, then add a tin of crushed tomatoes, 1-2 Tbsp lime juice, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then simmer under a lid until reduced and saucy.

Corny Muffins

Ate Krishna food today at Higher Taste, pretty good. Not much room left for Dad's Antipasto Ebly salad, but still enjoyed it thoroughly. But now, dear food blog, you can have my favourite savoury muffin recipe. It's based on a cornbread recipe which I got from somewhere, and as such comes out quite crumbly and yellow and corny. It's a pretty forgiving recipe, I kind of stick to the base recipe and bung whatever I want in, so they never come out the same way twice. But they're always, always good.  

Corny Muffins
(makes 6 big muffins or 12 little ones... or 9 medium ones)

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp ground flaxseeds 
6 Tbsp boiling water
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal or polenta
1/8 cup sugar 4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt some cayenne pepper, paprika, dried thyme (all optional). More paprika than thyme is good.
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 a medium sized zucchini (or even more), grated
 one or more of: sliced green olives, basil, sliced pickled jalapenos, preserved roasted red peppers, finely chopped celery, or even actual corn if you're that keen

1 cup soy milk (or water)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or other light coloured vinegar)

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees C.
2. Add water to flax seeds, letting it sit for a minute or so before whisking until thickened.
3. In a big bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (I usually use a fork).
4. Add the veges, flax egg, milk/water, oil, and vinegar. Mix until smooth, but don't go crazy on it.
5. Pour into greased muffin tins and bake in the middle of the oven for around 15-20 mins depending on how big your muffins are. Do the toothpick test.

Brunch in the Easter sun with family friends. It was so hot we had to break out the sunblock!

We had a feast of tofu and bean patties (a recipe by the DomPost's Ruth Pretty), polenta crostini topped with olive and sundried tomato relish, and home-made palmiers! Our hosts completed this with freshly squeezed orange juice, coffee, roasted tomatoes, sliced avocado, bread and dukkah, and a delicious sauterne wine that was like drinking sunlight.

Me and J rounded the day off rockhopping down in Owhiro Bay and a stroll through Island Bay, stopping at the Empire for gelato, one lemon, one melon. The best thing really about having someone you regularly swap germs with is that you can swap ice creams and avoid the whole dilemma of deciding. Though we do take care that our individual flavour choices are always anagrams of the other's. Got home in time to find vegan Nasi Goreng take-aways waiting for us in a steaming heap of spicy deliciousness.

All in all, a wonderful day.

Some recipes...

TOFU & BEAN PATTIES

Ingredients

- half a smallish pumpkin, cut into 1cm cubes and roasted till soft (about 10 mins)
- 1 big onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- can of chickpeas, mashed (300g cooked)
- can of kidney beans (300g cooked)
- 200g firm tofu, 1cm cubes
- some cooked brown rice (medium grain) (about 2/3 cup uncooked)
- some corn kernels, fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup Thai sweet chilli sauce
- 2 Tbsp chopped coriander leaves
- 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
- 2/3 cup rice flour
- salt and pepper

Method

Fry onion for a few minutes till soft, then add garlic and fry another minute. Put in a mixing bowl, and add all the rest of the stuff. Mix until able to form patties, adjusting flour amount as necessary. Fry patties in oil on medium high.

Serve with relish or tahini dressing (tahini mixed with some lemon juice, crushed garlic, olive oil and water).

(makes about 15 decent-sized patties)


POLENTA CROSTINI

Basically, fry rounds of polenta till crispy. This can take some time. I set my polenta in greased muffin tins, so the rounds were all ready to go.


PALMIERS

Get some vegan puff pastry. Get some vegan white sugar. Sprinkle some on a surface. Put the (defrosted) pastry on top. Sprinkle sugar on top of pastry too, going for an even layer. Use about 1/3 cup for the top and 1/2 a cup for the bottom. Roll the pastry out thinner, pressing in the sugar as you do so. Fold the left and right hand sides in until they meet at the middle. Repeat, then fold over like closing a book. Cut log into slices and arrange on baking paper on a baking tray. Bake at 230 degrees until caramelised on bottom (or top, if your oven is crazy like ours) - about 6-10 mins, then flip and cook the other side. Keep an eye on them. Likewise when they're out of the oven, these things disappear at lightning speed!