Corn and Shitake Fritters

At the airport on my way home from New York, I picked up a copy of the July 2007 Food & Wine magazine. Our flight was delayed, so by the time we were up in the air, I was getting so hungry reading the magazine. There were more vegetarian dishes than I expected. One that caught my eye immediately was Corn and Shitake Fritters on page 168. I couldn't resist trying the recipe. They are amazing! We ate them with baked portobello mushroom caps stuffed with Thai coral rice spiced with turmeric, cumin and cayenne and cooked with onion, garlic, and zucchini, then topped with slices of tomato and shredded mozzarella. In addition we had sauteed chard with garlic, and in bowls we had soupy black beans.

Corn and Shitake Fritters, adapted from Food & Wine

3 ears of corn, shucked
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup plus one tablespoon vegetable oil
3 large shitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps cut in 1/2 in dice (6 oz total) or equivalent weight portobello or other flavorful mushroom
1/4 cup diced sweet onion
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used a mixture of barley and oat)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. Cut the corn kernels from the cobs. Squeeze the pulp from the cobs into a blender by pressing and scraping them with a spoon or the dull edge of knife. Add half of the corn kernels, the egg and milk to the blender and blend until smooth.
2. Heat a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. On high heat, add the mushrooms and onion. Stir occasionally, until lightly browned, about five minutes. Add the remaining corn kernels and saute an additional minute. Spread the cooked mixture on a plate to cool. Place in freezer or fridge to speed the cooling if necessary.
3. In the meantime, in a bowl, whisk the flour(s), baking powder, salt and pepper. Stir it into the blended corn puree. Then fold in the cooled mushroom mixture.
4. Wipe the skillet, heat it again, and add the rest of the oil. (Or if your skillet isn't big enough to cook eight fritters at once, heat half of the oil to do half at a time). When the oil is nice and hot, use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to pour mounds of batter for eight fritters total onto the skillet. Spread the mounds of batter to about 1/2 inch thickness. Fry over moderately high heat, turning once, until golden and crispy. About 4 minutes. Drain on plates lined with paper towels and serve warm.