Fresh Corn Griddle Cakes With Spicy Salsa

Name: Fresh Corn Griddle Cakes With Spicy Salsa
Total time: 1 h
Yield: About 2 dozen 3-inch griddle cakes, 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups cornmeal; 1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 2 teaspoons sugar; 1 1/2 cups buttermilk; 2 eggs, lightly beaten; 6 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil, plus more for greasing griddle; 3 cups freshly shucked corn kernels, from about 4 ears; 1 small jalapeño chile, finely chopped, or to taste; 3 tablespoons finely sliced chives or scallions; 1 1/2 cups red onion, finely diced; 1 1/2 cups bell peppers, finely diced, preferably a mix of colors; 1 1/2 cups firm-ripe tomatoes, finely diced, preferably a mix of colors; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 small jalapeño chile, finely chopped, or to taste; Juice of 2 limes, more to taste; 1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, for garnish; 1 cup crumbled queso fresco, for garnish (may substitute mild feta)

By David Tanis

Updated Oct. 26, 2022

Fresh Corn Griddle Cakes With Spicy Salsa — Stephen Scott Gross for The New York Times

Total Time: 1 hour
Rating: 5(175)
Comments: Read comments

Sweet tender corn is one of summer’s great joys, and adding fresh kernels turns these cornmeal griddlecakes into something quite special. Stirring a bit of chopped jalapeño and chives into the batter improves them all the more. A zippy salsa of chopped summer peppers and tomatoes makes a fine topping. Serve a colorful plateful of them as is, hot off the griddle, or to accompany grilled pork chops. For the best texture and rise, prep the wet and dry ingredients for the batter in advance, but wait to combine them until just before cooking.

Featured in: The Flavor of Corn, but With Sizzle

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Ingredients

Yield:About 2 dozen 3-inch griddle cakes, 6 to 8 servings

For the Batter

1½cups cornmeal
½cup all-purpose flour
2teaspoons baking powder
1teaspoon baking soda
1teaspoon kosher salt
2teaspoons sugar
1½cups buttermilk
2eggs, lightly beaten
6tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil, plus more for greasing griddle
3cups freshly shucked corn kernels, from about 4 ears
1small jalapeño chile, finely chopped, or to taste
3tablespoons finely sliced chives or scallions

For the Salsa

1½cups red onion, finely diced
1½cups bell peppers, finely diced, preferably a mix of colors
1½cups firm-ripe tomatoes, finely diced, preferably a mix of colors
1teaspoon kosher salt
1small jalapeño chile, finely chopped, or to taste
Juice of 2 limes, more to taste
1cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, for garnish
1cup crumbled queso fresco, for garnish (may substitute mild feta)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

For the Batter
1. Step 1
  Stir together cornmeal, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs and 6 tablespoons melted butter. Set both bowls aside until ready to cook griddle cakes.
2. Step 3
  Finish the batter: Add buttermilk mixture to cornmeal mixture and mix briefly with wooden spoon or whisk to obtain a thick batter. Add corn kernels, jalapeño and chives and stir to combine.
For the Salsa
1. Step 2
  In a serving bowl, toss onions, peppers, tomatoes, salt and jalapeño. Add lime juice and toss again. (May prepare 1 to 2 hours ahead.)
2. Step 4
  Set griddle or large cast-iron pan over medium heat. When griddle is hot, grease lightly with a dab of butter, using a folded paper towel or pastry brush. Spoon slightly less than ¼ cup batter onto griddle. Adjust heat as necessary to keep griddle cakes from browning too quickly. Cook for about 1½ minutes, then carefully flip with spatula and cook for another 1½ minutes.
3. Step 5
  Serve immediately as soon as griddle cakes are ready or keep hot in a low oven until all batter is used. To serve, put 3 griddle cakes on a plate. Top with a generous spoonful of salsa. Garnish with a few cilantro leaves and a sprinkling of queso fresco.

Ratings

5 out of 5

175 user ratings

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Comments

mdurphy7 years ago

I have a hard time with this as a sweet "pancake". I like it as a savory corn fritter: omit the sugar, and add a cup or more of finely diced onion, red & yellow pepper and parsley along with the corn. Salsa is good, but you could also serve it with a scoop of aioli. I used it as a side for braised chicken thighs, but it would go well with lots of saucy dishes. And a nice southern rhone.

Sally McKee7 years ago

Like most recipes, do a dry run. I found that the cakes took longer to cook in a cast iron skillet than I expected. The salsa complemented the cakes very well. I also made Cyndy Pawlson's tomatillo-avocado salsa as an alternative. But on the whole a good recipe that needs tweaking according to your stove, pan, and the amount of corn you put in it.

Thomas7 years ago

This was great. Added some chopped avocados on top and a lime crema and it was a perfect, light August meal.

For the salsa, I used heirloom tomatoes and would probably use a serrano pepper next time in it as it wasn't very "spicy."

I served it with Shiner Bock Prickly Pear, which worked well.

butterybuns9 months ago

Use a crepe pan and a cast iron skillet to make 2 pancakes at a time. Use powdered buttermilk. I would add a bit more sugar next time to make it more cachapa like. Very tasty! Serve with a hot salsa and a sweet salsa.

Jen1 year ago

Puréed half the corn and omitted the sugar

Doug S.1 year ago

OK, I really didn't want to spend two hours making these. So how to reduce the time spent? OK, I could have just used jarred salsa but a family member was kind of under the weather and nixed the idea of salsa. So I ditched the chilli and the green onions in the batter and just treated these as ordinary pancakes with butter and syrup and they were fine. Found the final batter too thick so just added a tad more buttermilk. Increased cooking time to remove all rawness.

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