Tips On The Kitchen: Corn Pancakes with Fresh Chunky Salsa

One of my favorite blogging events is Tried and Tasted, a monthly event started by Zlamushka. Each month a different blog is featured and participants are invited and encouraged to browse through and cook from the archives. Considering how many recipes I bookmark and print off to try, having a focus is certainly welcomed.

The event is hosted this time around by Tasty Curry Leaf, and Tasty Palettes, run by the talented Suganya, is the featured site for March. I was excited by this choice, as I've long been a fan and enjoyed more than a few of her creations. Asides from her stunning photography, Suganya's recipes are always a treat and a welcome addition to the dinner table. Even her easiest dishes add a gourmet element to the meal.

The hardest part of this challenge was to actually settle on a recipe as all of Suganya's recipes are tempting. I was originally going to go with this cheese stuffed Baked Portobello but instead decided to make her Corn Pancakes with Gazpacho Salsa because I liked the idea of a filling savory pancake dish to serve for dinner. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. I used yogurt instead of milk for the pancakes because I didn't have any milk in the fridge, and I changed the salsa around somewhat, most notably by making a chunky version instead of a blended version.

The result was a fresh and satisfying dinner, and though spring is slow in coming, I am already craving summer. This recipe can easily be doubled if you have more tummies to satisfy.

Corn Pancakes with Fresh Chunky Salsa

For the Corn Pancakes:

3/4 cup of unbleached white flour
3/4 cup of cornmeal
1 1/2 cups of corn (fresh or frozen - thawed if frozen)
1 cup of milk (I used yogurt)
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1/4 of finely chopped fresh cilantro
olive oil for frying

For the Salsa:

2 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 hot green chili, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon of dried basil
1 tablespoon of olive oil
sea salt to taste

To make the Corn Pancakes, combine the flour, baking powder, corn meal and salt in a medium large bowl. Add the corn and stir in the milk (or yogurt) and cilantro until just combined. If the mixture is too dry, add more milk or yogurt.

Heat a few teaspoons of olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Spoon in roughly 1/4 - 1/3 cup of batter per pancake (roughly 2 inches wide). Cook until browned - roughly 5 minutes - and flip and cook the other side until browned. Add more oil as necessary. Keep the pancakes warm in a 150 degree oven until ready to serve.

To make the Chunky Salsa, combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and stir well to combine. Serve over the hot corn pancakes.

Yields roughly 2 - 4 servings.