Zucchini, Spicy Grilled Corn & Cheese Pancakes

Keep the zucchini recipes coming? No problem! I’ve got a great one for you here – Zucchini, Spicy Grilled Corn & Cheese Pancakes! The husband says this may well be his favourite recipe of 2015. I must admit, I can see why. Moist, light and bursting with fresh summer garden goodness these savory pancakes are not only delicious warm from the frying pan, but are also great at room temperature or even cold right out of the fridge.

One of the things I love about these pancakes besides the fresh zucchini is the bit of spice factor. You know us and our penchant for hot and spicy by now. So I’ve added a bit of Spicy Grilled Corn to the mix. The zesty lime/chili combo of spices and the grilled flavour adds so much to this dish. And of course when I added the cheese in, I went with a Habanero Jack Cheese. The great thing here is that if you don’t want to turn up the heat like we do, just use fresh corn and maybe go with the parmesan or cheddar cheese option. It’s all up to you and your taste buds. We’ve eaten these pancakes as a main course with a fresh salad on the side, as a side dish paired with some grilled chicken, re-heated them for a quick savory breakfast and snacked on them between meals. They would be amazing as a summer appetizer as well. Just make them silver dollar sized and top them with a little dollop of sour cream and fresh chives. That versatility, along with ease of preparation makes them a winner in my book! So if your garden runneth over with zucchini, griddle up some of these mouthwatering pancakes. Folks will swoon!

• Servings: 20 pancakes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

recipe slightly adapted from: King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or coarse black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup chopped chives or scallions; about 1 bunch scallions, trimmed and chopped
• 2 teaspoons salt, to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
• 4 cups coarsely grated zucchini; about one 10″ zucchini
• 1 cup spicy grilled corn (recipe to follow, you can use regular corn if you can’t be bothered to grill corn – but I think the grilled corn option is the way to go!)
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan, Cheddar, Monterey Jack or Spicy Habanero Jack cheese.
• sour cream & fresh chives for serving

Directions:

Preheat a griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat; if you have an electric griddle, set the heat to 400°F.

Beat the eggs with the oil, salt, and pepper until thoroughly combined.

Add the herbs, spices, scallions, zucchini, corn and cheese, stirring to combine.

Stir in the flour.

Grease the hot griddle lightly. Drop the batter in 1/4 cupfuls onto the griddle; a muffin scoop works well here. If necessary, spread the cakes to about 3 1/2″ to 4″ diameter.

Cook the cakes for 3 minutes, or until they’re brown on the bottom, and bubbles have appeared on their tops. The top surface will appear somewhat dry and set.

Flip the cakes, and cook them for about3 to 4 minutes on the second side, or until they’re as moist/cooked as you like when you break one open.

Repeat until you’ve used all of the batter.

Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold; with butter and grated cheese, or without. Store any leftovers, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator. Reheat in a toaster or toaster oven, if desired.

Spicy Grilled Corn

This recipe will likely yield more than the 1 cup you need for the zucchini pancakes. But having extra Spicy Grilled Corn around is not a problem! You can eat it cold, straight from the fridge, sprinkle it over salads or warm it up for a side dish.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 ears of fresh corn in husk
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 3/4 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tsp light brown sugar
• ¼ tsp chili powder

Directions:

Combine olive oil, lime juice, garlic, salt, brown sugar and chili powder in small bowl and whisk together.
Preheat grill.
Peel back the corn husks, discarding all but a couple inner layers. Remove corn silk, then baste with dressing, and recover corn with remaining husk.
Grill on med-high for 20-25 minutes, turning 3-4 times during cooking time.
Remove the corn from grill and allow to cool a few minutes. Once it has cooled enough to handle, cut off stem end, place the flat cut end on bottom of large bowl, and use a corn zipper to strip the kernels from the cob. Or if you don’t have a zipper, run a small sharp knife down the length of the cob, slicing off kernels.

Enjoy!

Zucchini, Spicy Grilled Corn & Cheese Pancakes brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

 

 

Israeli Couscous & Orzo Salad with Fresh Mozzarella, Corn & Cherry Tomatoes

This lovely pasta salad, chock full of fresh vegetables and herbs, practically screams summer. And although I am ready for some Fall weather, it is still fairly warm around here, so this salad would still be very welcome at any picnic or potluck to which you may find yourself invited. The combination of the zesty grilled corn, tangy tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and herbs is nothing short of addictive.

Now I should mention, this recipe makes a whole bunch of this salad. If you’re only making it for a couple of folks, you might want to cut it in half. Either that or content yourself with the knowledge that you’ll be nibbling on it all week, which isn’t a bad thing at all! The original recipe recommends that you use raw corn, straight from the cob. No cooking necessary. However, as I’ve mentioned, I’ve been a bit obsessed with grilled corn and think that is the best way to go. However if you find yourself pressed for time, you could go with the raw option or just use some canned or frozen corn and you will still find this salad to be quite a delightful, healthy and refreshing summer time treat!

Israeli Couscous & Orzo Salad with Fresh Mozzarella, Corn & Cherry Tomatoes

recipe from: The Cafe Sucre Farine

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces Israeli Couscous
• 8 ounces Orzo
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling over pasta
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
• ½ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
• ¼ cup fresh oregano, finely chopped
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pint yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 pint red cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 bunch green (spring) onions, thinly sliced
• 6 ears fresh corn, shucked, grilled (see Tex-Mex Grilled Corn instructions here) and kernels cut from cobs or use 2-3 cups canned corn
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, drained (if in brine) and cut in bite sized pieces
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• small fresh herb leaves, if desired, for garnish
• extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stove top. Add a generous measure of salt (about a tablespoon) and return to a boil. Add couscous and orzo, allow water to return to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes or until al dente. Stir frequently while pasta is cooking. Drain well and drizzle with olive oil, just a teaspoon or two to keep the pasta from sticking together.Stir to coat well to coat and allow to cool.

Combine the ⅓ cup olive oil, garlic, fresh herbs, lemon zest, Italian seasoning, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper in a large bowl.

Add halved tomatoes, green onions, corn and pastas. Stir to combine. Taste and add more sea salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed.

Add fresh mozzarella cubes and stir gently. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter. Add fresh herb leaves for garnish, if desired. Drizzle with a bit more extra virgin olive oil and serve.

Enjoy!

Tex-Mex Grilled Corn & Tomato Salad

Hmmm….I was afraid I might have waited a little too late in the season to talk about all of the delicious late summer veggies. I really did think Fall was here. Boy was I wrong, not only has the mercury hit 85° F (29°C) around here but sounds like it is slated to shoot up to 88° F (31 °C) on Saturday. Really?!! Completely out of line Mother Nature! So, I guess it isn’t too late to talk about those summer veggies after all. I talked up tomatoes last time and today I will be talking about corn. I’m always happy to see corn on the cob at summer picnics and BBQs. Grilled up with this spicy marinade, you’ll think of it more as a treat than a vegetable!

We certainly ate a lot of this Grilled Corn & Tomato Salad this summer. (It was another vehicle for my plethora of cherry tomatoes!) Sometimes we served it as a side dish, but a few times we made a big salad, added a few strips of grilled chicken and then spooned this spicy corn and tomato mixture over the top as a zesty dressing.

If you have never grilled corn before, you simply must get started! Grilling it gives it a wonderful smoky flavour which goes along wonderfully with the natural sweetness of the corn.

Simply peel those husks back, remove the corn silk, brush the salad dressing over the kernels and then gently fold the husks back over the corn. Grill for 20-25 minutes. Believe me, you will have a hard time not gobbling all that corn up right off the cob before you can get it anywhere near the salad bowl. Delicious! Absolutely one of summer’s best!

Tex-Mex Grilled Corn & Tomato Salad

recipe from: Mom Foodie

Ingredients:

• 3-4 ears of fresh corn in husk
• 1 cup grape tomatoes (sliced in half)
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 jalapeno, (de-seeded & diced)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• ¾ tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tsp light brown sugar
• ¼ tsp chili powder

Directions:

Combine olive oil, lime juice, garlic, salt, brown sugar and chili powder in small bowl and whisk together. Separate dressing in half. Use half to baste the corn and the other half to dress the salad.
Preheat grill.
Peel back the corn husks, discarding all but a couple inner layers. Remove corn silk, then baste with dressing, and recover corn with remaining husk.
Grill on med-high for 20-25 minutes, turning 3-4 times during cooking time.
Remove the corn from grill and allow to cool a few minutes, then cut off stem end, place the flat cut end on bottom of large bowl, and use a corn zipper to strip the kernels from the cob. Or if you don’t have a zipper, run a small sharp knife down the length of the cob, slicing off kernels.
Add the tomato, cilantro, jalapeno and ½ the dressing. Mix well.
Serve at room temp or chilled.

Enjoy!

Corn Pudding

This year I cooked Thanksgiving dinner completely on my own. Ordinarily, we go to my Mum’s house and she makes an awesome dinner with every possible dish imaginable. I usually only contribute a side dish and a dessert. This year due to extenuating circumstances, we were not able to attend her feast and I was faced with having to cook one for us all by myself! (Yikes!) Although it was somewhat daunting, I think I did fairly well once all was said and done (or eaten as the case may be). One of the dishes my Mum always prepares for Thanksgiving is corn pudding. Now that I think of it, Corn Pudding is usually available on every holiday. I think it is a classic Southern dish. Certainly very popular on both Tilghman Island ( a little island in the Chesapeake Bay where I grew up) as well as Smith Island ( a more isolated island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay, where my Da grew up). Both Jay and I really like it, so I wanted to give it a whirl. Although I didn’t achieve the level of yumminess that Mum’s pudding does, it was still pretty tasty. Mum doesn’t actually add vanilla to hers, but we are both huge vanilla fans so into the mix it went. I also only used two tablespoons of sugar, whereas Mum says you can add up to four. As with most recipes handed down in families, the amounts of any given ingredient were not given to me in cold, hard fact form, but in “add it to taste” and “oh, about a tablespoon or so”. You know how it goes. Mum usually bakes it in a square baking dish (8″x8″), but an oval gratin pan works as well as little ramekins. Though with ramekins the cooking time will be reduced. Just watch them and remove them from the oven once the top is set. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Corn Pudding

recipe from: My Mum!

Ingredients:

• 1 – 15 oz. can creamed corn
• 2-4 Tablespoons Sugar (to your taste)
• 2 Tablespoons Bisquick
• 2 eggs-lightly beaten
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla extract
• 1- 12 oz. can Evaporated Milk
• 1/2 stick ( 4 Tablespoons) of butter-melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F

In medium-sized bowl combine creamed corn, eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract.

Place Bisquick in small bowl and add a small amount of pet milk, stirring until it is smooth and no lumps remain.

Add Bisquick mixture to corn mixture.

Add the rest of the can of Evaporated milk to corn mixture and stir until combined.

Place 1/2 stick of butter in dish you wish to bake the pudding in. Microwave the butter until melted. Swirl the butter mixture around the inside of the dish until sides are coated.

Pour corn mixture into buttered baking dish.

Place corn pudding dish on baking sheet to protect your oven should it boil over.

Bake for 75 minutes or until top of pudding is set.

Enjoy!