Crispy Corn Fritters

One of my favorite Summer flavors has always been corn on the cob. I remember when I was a kid my parents would make us go outside and husk the corn they’d bought before dinner. My brother, sister and I would sit on the picnic table in the backyard and meticulously try to pick every one of the little “hairs” out from between the kernels. We always boiled corn on the cob on my family, but I recently tried it grilled and I loved it that way too. I’m pretty sure I’d love it through any preparation. When I was young I loved smothering my corn with butter from one of those butter push-ups and sprinkling salt all over the top. Nowadays I am actually more of a corn on the cob purist. I usually just eat it plain. The sweet, juicy bursts of corn are generally all the flavor I need.

I actually found this recipe in the winter months and I have been impatiently waiting ever since for summer to hit so it would be seasonally relevant. Today, I finally got to make it! It was totally worth the wait. I love the texture: juicy bubbles of corn surrounded by a crispy coating too. The flavors are great too. Corn is truly the star here, with just a little onion, flour and egg to hold it all together and a little salt and pepper for flavor. You are welcome to add more herbs or seasoning if you’d like, but for a corn-lover like me, these fritters are a true celebration of the fresh corn. These make a great side dish to any meat you may want to throw on the grill and come together really quickly. This may be my new favorite Summer side dish!

Crispy Corn Fritters
Source: Spoon Fork Bacon

Ingredients:
3 large uncooked ears of corn, husked and rinsed
1 shallot, diced small
2 scallions, diced small
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 T canola oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1.    Using a sharp knife, cut the kernels off of the corn cobs. Place the kernels into a large mixing bowl and add the shallot, scallions and garlic. Stir to mix. Add the egg and the flour and stir again until thoroughly combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2.    Place a tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet and bring it over medium heat. Fill a ¼ cup measuring cup about ¾ full with the corn mixture and when the oil is hot dump the measuring cup contents into the oil. Using a spoon or spatula, press down on the pile you just made to flatten into a cake. Repeat three times until you have four cakes in the pan. Cook the fritters for 1-2 minutes until golden on the bottom and then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes. When the fritters are golden on each side, remove them to a plate covered with a paper towel to drain off any excess oil.
3.    Repeat step 2 twice more until you have used all of the corn mixture to make 12 fritters.

Yields 12 fritters. WW P+: 2 per fritter, or 5 P+ for 2 fritters (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Nutrition Information per fritter from myfitnesspal.com: 82 calories, 10 g carbs, 4 g fat, 2 g protein, 1 g fiber