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.

Post Punk bouillabaisse

I really wanted to make Isa's latested creation - vegan bouillabaisse. I wanted to make it so much that I couldn't wait until I had a chance to buy the ingredients (not having nori and fennel on hand all the time). But, despite a lot of needs must substitutions, it still came out delectable. I'm still keen to try it as written some time, but it's good to remember that this version will more than do in a pinch:


As the linked recipe, but with celery instead of fennel, fried zucchini instead of roasted squash, dried thyme rather than fresh, no nori, and tomato paste instead of tinned tomatoes, with some fresh cherrry tomatoes chucked in for texture. I also upped the spice.

Lovely for a winter's evening - hearty, brothy, and a bit fancy with the spice and the orange zest. Not your run of the mill lentil soup.

Venetian antipasti and "French" potato salad

Whenever fennel and zucchini both turn up in my fridge I want to make this recipe. It's based on one from the Venetian antipasti section of the World Food Cafe 2 cookbook, modified to suit my kitchen and incorporating breadcrumbs in the gremolita à la Vegan Yum Yum. Although it's pretty easy and quick to throw together, it both tastes and looks kind of fancy. I wanted to have it along side a Venetian inspired bean salad and some herbed polenta, but my kitchen helper was against the polenta given the amount of stirring involved. So we padded out the salad with potatoes instead, and added a mustard-based dressing that I believe takes it over into the territory of what Swedes call "French potato salad". Here follow the recipes for both.

Zucchini and Fennel with a Herb and Lemon Gremolita

(serves 2)

INGREDIENTS

1/2 a big zucchini, sliced thinly lengthways
1 fennel bulb, sliced thinly lengthways
olive oil for frying
lemon juice to taste (but don't forget to zest the lemons first)
salt and pepper

1/2 cup breadcrumbs
grated zest of 1 lemon
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
finely chopped Italian herbs, especially parsley (use fresh if poss, but we use a frozen mixture)
salt and pepper

METHOD

Fry the fennel in olive oil until soft and browned on both sides. Remove and arrange on a plate. Do the same with the zucchini, adding more olive oil if necessary. Drizzle the cooked veg with lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste.

For the gremolita, combine breadcrumbs, zest and garlic (and herbs if using frozen) and toast in olive oil until garlic is golden and breadcrumbs have browned. Add herbs (if using fresh) and salt and pepper, and sprinkle over the veges.


French Bean and Potato Salad

1/2 a red onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 cup cooked large white beans
4 cups cooked cubed potatoes
2 Tbsp capers
2 Tbsp finely chopped Italian/French herbs (we used the same frozen mix, but get some oregano in there)
a handful of rocket (optional)

Dressing: a glug of olive oil, juice of 1/2 a lemon, some mustard (start with a tsp, add more to taste)
salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients and adjust seasoning to taste.

Elegantly Rustic

Last night's dinner:

A turn to colder weather and fridge full of odds and ends of veges means... vegetable soup! I love how cauliflower makes a creamy soup without the addition of extra fat.

Cauliflower and Celery Soup
 
Saute 1 diced onion and 2-3 cloves garlic in a little oil in a soup pot, for a few minutes until softened.
Add half a small zucchini (chopped), 3 medium ribs of celery (chopped), and a head of cauliflower, chopped. Stir around a bit, and add some dried thyme, oregano, and a couple of pinches of ground cumin. Add enough stock to cover (not too strong). Cook with the lid on until everything is soft. Add 1-2 cups cooked chick peas. Blend everything in a blender till smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Ratatouille Tarte Tatin

This would probably be delicious with croutons, but I decided to fancy it up a bit with a savoury tart to serve on the side. I made a ratatouille-inspired version of the classic tarte tatin. Instead of apples and sugar on the bottom, I sauteed some red onions, fresh tomatoes, aubergine, and zucchini, until reduced. Then I sprinkled on some dried basil and salt and pepper, pressed a pastry top on top of the lot (don't burn your fingers!), pricked lots of holes with a fork and bunged the whole thing in the oven until browned. (Frying pan has to be cast-iron or something that can go in the oven - no plastic or wooden handles). To serve, flip upside down, so that veges are on top. I usually find this step difficult, so I often cut it into wedges while still in the pan, and then flip the wedges individually onto plates. This time I made Isa's olive oil pastry, which worked pretty well for me, but I always have best results with store-bought vegan pastry.

Udon!

I wanted udon, I wanted them bad. I wanted seven spice udon, like I remember seeing in the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook and had always planned to make. Unfortunately, my udon craving hit me in New Zealand, while my VYY book is in storage on the other side of the world! Oh noes. I knew I would miss it. I remembered that the recipe had udon, Japanese seven spice, and finely chopped brussel sprouts and grated carrot. I didn't have any seven spice, but I was undeterred. Seven spice is pretty much garlic, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, chilli, pepper, orange peel and seaweed. Here follows my improvisation. When reunited with my beloved cookbook, we will see how it compares.

(feeds 3-4)

INGREDIENTS

2 tsp poppy seeds
2 tsp sesame seeds (or some sesame oil instead)
1 tsp chilli flakes
zest of 1 orange
2 tsp seaweed flakes (like wakame or nori)
1 tsp pepper (sechuan pepper if on hand)

2 large cloves garlic
350g brussel sprouts, shredded
3 handfuls haricot beans, topped and tailed
2 zucchini, chopped into thin sticks
3 carrots, grated
3 small packets pre-cooked udon
3 Tbsp soya sauce
2 Tbsp mirin

cooked marinated tofu (i.e. teriyaki, or the delicious Bean Supreme stuff)
chopped toasted almonds (optional)
chopped spring onions

METHOD

First, make your delicious seven spice! Take poppy seeds, sesame seeds, orange zest and seaweed and dry roast in a pan on the stove for a few minutes until it all smells roasty. Keep an eye on it, don't let it burn! Remove quickly from the pan when ready, as they can burn even when you turn off the heat. Put aside.

Stir fry the brussel sprouts, zucchini and beans with a little oil, in a wok on high heat. When nearly done, add carrots and sesame oil (if using), udon, soya sauce, and mirin. Stir everything around until all heated and cooked, then season with the roasted components of the seven spice, together with chilli flakes and pepper. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and spring onions, and serve with tofu.


***** BONUS YAKISOBA IMPROVISED RECIPE *****

I made yakisoba in a similar way with similar veges (slightly bigger bits of carrot, and broccoli cause it's yum) but instead of seven spice I seasoned it with soya sauce, mirin and Rocket Fuel sauce. Stirred everything through soba noodles and ate it with vegetable tempura and miso soup with soft tofu in. Yum.

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.