Recipe: Corn and Jalapeño Fritters

Nobody’s perfect all the time. We do our best to stick to a seasonal produce schedule, buying locally when we can and often amending recipes or changing culinary tacks when we can’t. But there’s one night, almost weekly, when we fill our grocery carts with abandon, and that’s taco night.

Sure, we do our best. We buy our steak from North Plain Farm and our radishes, cabbage, tomatoes, even jalapeños, from farms around the county. But we just can’t let go of our beloved guacamole, and the avocados and limes that it calls for. It’s a deliciously rebellious treat that we relish—so much so that we often over-buy for our table of two and happily gorge on leftovers for a few extra days.

But we’re always striving to bring it back to the Berkshires. The last couple taco nights we’ve been enjoying these delicious and easy corn fritters. They’re a quick way to get a little more local produce on our plates, and a great off-the-cob vehicle for the corn which is so bountiful and sweet this year. Serve with lime, avo and creme fraiche as a starter, or skip the tortillas all together and pile your taco fillings on top, torta-style. However you do it, you’ll be doing your local farmer a favor while enjoying more global flavor.

Corn and Jalapeño Fritters

+ 2 beaten large eggs

+ 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

+ 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

+ 1 teaspoon kosher salt

+ 2 cups fresh corn kernels

+ 1 thinly sliced scallion

+ 1 finely chopped seeded jalapeño

+ 2 tablespoons safflower oil (canola will work, too)

+ Flake salt

+ Creme fraiche, avocado and lime, for serving

1. Combine eggs, flour, grated Parmesan, and kosher salt in a food processor. Pulse a few times to mix well.

2. Add corn kernels, scallion, and jalapeño; pulse 2–3 times.

3. Heat oil in pan. When hot, cook heaping tablespoonfuls of batter until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Season patties with flake salt and serve with creme fraiche, avocado and lime.

Note: This recipe originally appeared on RuralIntelligence.com on August 17, 2014. It's been back-dated here on our blog so that it falls, seasonally, in the right place.