Fried corn fritters

After a day at the beach and a mid-afternoon lunch, I thought we would want, at most a light summer dinner tonight.  I got a hankering for corn fritters and after looking around and reading some reviews came up with the recipe below.  I thought they were great!  Nice fresh corn flavor, light and crispy.

I used a gluten free 1:1 substitution blend, which is mostly rice flour.  I've read some recipes that weren't designed specifically to be gluten free that used rice flour because it's lighter and makes for a crispier crust than wheat flour.  The original version from which this recipe is adapted called for wheat flour.

1 c. flour -  (see note above)
1/4 c. cornmeal
1 t. baking powder
3/4 - 1 t. salt
1/4 - 1/2 t. sugar

~12 oz fresh corn (I cut the kernels off of 4 ears of corn)
~1/4 c chopped basil (optional)
~ 1/3 - 1/2 c chopped scallions (optional)
some grated parmesan or a little havarti would probably also work well, but I didn't try that.

2/3 c. buttermilk (or plain milk would probably work)
1 egg
1 T. shortening, melted

Oil/shortening for frying


Heat about 1/2 - 3/4" of frying oil of your choice in a skillet or whatever you fry things in.  I dumped the corn into some hot water briefly (~2 min, maybe) just to cook them a little as I really dislike under-cooked corn.  From there it's pretty basic - mix up the dries, then stir in the veggies/extras.  (Adding them to the dry ingredients allows for even distribution throughout the batter without the danger of over-mixing once the wets are added).  Whisk together the wet ingredients, then stir into the dries just until combined.  Drop spoonfuls into hot oil, fry until brown, then turn over to get the other side.  I mixed together some sour cream and scallions to serve on top of these, which I thought was pretty good.  Some people leave out the basil and scallions and serve them with honey or syrup.  Whatever floats your boat.  These were slightly sweet, but mostly from the corn, and just really delicious, I thought.  I'll be adding them to our meal list for light summer dinners.  I served them with lightly sauteed zucchini and carrot ribbons with chopped mint and basil and topped with goat cheese.