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–+ servings

Corn Cakes with Beet and Apple Salad

Ingredients

  • Corn Cakes
  • 5 medium ears of corn (or 1 lb frozen corn kernels, defrosted)
  • 3 medium shallots, peeled and finely diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly toasted and coarsely crushed
  • 1 tsp ground cumin, lightly toasted
  • 1 tsp celery seeds
  • ½ oz tarragon leaves, roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted but not hot + more for greasing the muffin pan
  • 2 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
  • 2 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour (or spelt flour)
  • 2 oz feta, broken into 6 chunks (or smaller chunks depending on how many muffins you're making .. you'll want one chunk per muffin)
  • 1 ½ tsp coarse sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper

  • Beet + Apple Salad
  • ½ cup Greek Yogurt
  • 2 tsp good sherry vinegar
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • ½ tsp fennel seeds roasted and coarsely crushed + ½ tsp extra for a garnish
  • ½ tsp celery seeds
  • ½ oz parsley, roughly chopped
  • 2 medium beets, peeled and julienned
  • 1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and julienned (if prepared in advance, keep covered with water with some lemon juice, to prevent discoloration)

  • To serve
  • small basil leaves

Instructions

  • Prep
  • Preheat oven to 400° F
  • Prepare the muffin tins by greasing them well with butter and lining them with squares of parchment paper. (Make sure to cut them big enough to the sides rise a couple of inches about the tray)

  • Corn Cakes
  • Hold each cob vertically on a chopping board and use a large, sharp knife to shave off the kernels: you should end up with about a pound of kernels.
  • Discard the cobs and put the kernels, shallot, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor.
  • Pulse until the corn has been roughly processed (but not a wet puree)
  • Add the fennel seeds, cumin, celery seeds, tarragon, baking powder, butter and egg yolks, plus a teaspoon and a half of salt and a very good grind of black pepper.
  • Plus a few more times to combine and transfer to a bowl (some of the kernels will still be whole)
  • Fold the flour in by hand
  • In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until they form firm peaks.
  • Fold a third of the whites gently into the corn mixture (being careful not to overwork it). Once incorporated, fold in another third, and then repeat with the last of the egg whites.
  • Divide the mix between the molds and insert a chunk of feta into each, pushing it halfway down into the corn mix (the cakes will puff up around the cheese when they cook)
  • Bake for 25-40 minutes (depending on the size of your muffin tins) until the cakes have risen and are fluffy and golden brown
  • The cakes will still be a bit wet at this point, so remove from the oven and set them aside for 10 - 15 minutes before lifting them out of the tray

  • Beet + Apple Salad
  • Mix all the salad ingredients (except the beetroot and apple) in a bowl

  • Serve
  • Gently mix the beetroot and apple into the salad just before serving.
  • Serve the warm cakes with the salad alongside, sprinkled with the extra fennel seeds and the basil leaves.