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. 

Sunday Brunch: Fall Veggie Frittata

This Saturday, we hosted an engagement party for Jake's brother and his fiancée. After a lovely afternoon of 30+ guests, most of Jake’s family would be spending the night at our apartment. We knew everyone that the next morning everyone would be pretty groggy from a long day of Prosecco sipping, so we wanted to make something easy and absorbent for Sunday's brunch.

And what requires almost no labor, takes 30 minutes from start to finish, and fills you up with out weighing you down? A Frittata! Just beat some eggs, throw in whatever ingredients you have laying around, and you’ve got a beautiful showcase for seasonal produce. We already had some 3-Corner Field Farm brebis blanche in the fridge and plenty of herbs on the terrace. Along with Jake’s mom and brother, we took a quick trip to the market to pick up some early fall cherry tomatoes, bell peppers and a dozen eggs from Grazin’ Angus. The frittata- plus a boule from Bread Alone and a mixed green salad- was the perfect accompaniment to a sun-filled morning of post-party gossip.

 
Fall Veggie Frittata

+ 10 eggs

+ 1 cup cherry tomatoes

+ 1 cup chopped peppers

+ 8 oz fresh goat or sheep cheese

+ a large bunch of herbs, roughly chopped - we used parsley and basil

+ salt and pepper

+ 2 tablespoons of butter, oil or bacon drippings

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large (10-inch) cast iron skillet, heat your choice of fat on medium-high heat. When  fully hot, throw in the tomatoes and peppers. You could also add some garlic and onions here- really any vegetable you'd like to include.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the cheese, half the herbs, a teaspoon of salt and some ground black pepper. Cayenne or paprika could also be added here.

4. When the tomatoes have started to burst and peppers have softened, turn the heat down to medium-low. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and sprinkle top with the rest of the herbs. Let the skillet stand undisturbed on medium-low for 10 minutes.

5. Move the skillet to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until it is puffed up and feels spongy.

6. Take out of oven and serve directly out of the skillet.