Southern Cooking at its Best -- Corn Fritters

   What do you do with leftover corn? Why, make corn fritters, of course. I turned to one of my favorite Southern cookbooks, "The Gift of Southern Cooking" which I found at Bonnie Slotnick's Cookbooks,  a Greenwich Village shop overflowing with every type of cookbook imaginable.

"The Gift of Southern Cooking" was penned by Edna Lewis (the goddess of Southern cooking) and Scott Peacock, executive chef the Watershed restaurant in Decatur, Ga., (which is owned by one of the Indigo Girls). Upon meeting at the Southern Food Festival in Atlanta in 1990, the two cooked for three days straight, learning about the differences in their Southern techniques. They were quite inseparable despite the differences -- He is white, gay and in his 40s; she was African-American, a widow and nearing 90. But together they shared an irrepressible passion for food.

I made "Fresh Corn Fritters, which are lightened up by whipped egg whites (not as complicated as it sounds and very easy to do!).  The Amateur Gourmet -- one of my favorite food blogging sites (besides my own, of course)--  made the corn fritters from the yellow-bound Gourmet cookbook, which had recommend pouring a little maple syrup on the fritters. It was wonderful.

Fresh Corn Fritters (40 fritters)

oil

2 cups stone-ground white cornmeal

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg, separated, plus 2 egg whites

1 small onion, grated

1 1/2 - 2 cups buttermilk

1 cup fresh corn kernels (I used cooked corn and used much more than recommended)

Put the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl and mix well to blend. Add the egg yolk, the grated onion and 1 ½ cups of buttermilk. Stir until the dough is thoroughly blended and has the consistency of loose mashed potatoes; if it is too stiff, add more buttermilk. Stir in corn kernels.

Whip the three egg whites in a clean bowl until they mount, then quickly and carefully fold them into the reserved batter. Heat the fat to 340 degrees, then drop rounded tablespoonfuls of the batter into fat and fry until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon or strainer to a draining rack or crumpled paper towels.

NOTE: They cooked a lot like a pancake (if you were too cook pancakes in a vat of oil, I guess). As soon as the little bubbles start coming to the top of the corn fritters, flip them over.

Comments

[Melanie]

Hey- I love Southern Cookin'. These sound wonderful- it is a shame you can't get taste and smell through the internet. Who does your pictures- they look pro?

[R. Thomas]

A suggestion: dribble maple syrup over the corn fritters. But make sure to keep it away from the meat!