One of my best friends has a penchant for canned sweetcorn: when no one is looking, she sneaks to the fridge, spoon in hand, to gobble up the odd mouthful. As guilty pleasures go, that’s a fairly innocent one (mine are far worse), but I still cannot fathom it: the very smell of canned sweetcorn makes me shudder, and is to blame for putting me off corn for several decades. That all changed when I began to travel, especially in Mexico, where savoury, multi-coloured corn is the stuff of legend – packed with essential vitamins and minerals, it’s practically a superfood – and I found that I loved the stuff (so long as it had never come into contact with a tin).
Corn is grown worldwide, and its sweet flavour is just made for spices and heat, ideal for me. And while cooking so much of it in Mexico, I discovered that frozen sweetcorn is almost (but not quite) as good as fresh. As with broad beans and peas, freezing arrests the aging process and stops the sugars turning into starch. This leaves lovely sweet kernels with none of the flavour that the canning process produces – unless, of course, that is your guilty pleasure, too.
Indian spiced sweetcorn fritters with ginger yoghurt
Use plain flour if you can’t get gram (chickpea). Incidentally, you can also deep-fry small spoonfuls of this batter, which is perhaps a little less healthy although absurdly good. Serves four to six, as a first course.
3 corn cobs (or 500g frozen kernels)
150g gram (or plain) flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp mixed spice
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp paprika
3 free-range eggs, separated
140ml milk
2 spring onions, chopped
½-1 red chilli, finely chopped, according to taste
2 limes, zested and juiced
1 big handful chopped coriander leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
15g butter
1-2 tbsp olive oil
For the yoghurt
100g greek yoghurt
1 tsp nigella seeds
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 tsp grated ginger
Heat the oven to 140C/285F/gas mark 1. Hold the corn upright and, using a sharp knife, carefully shave off the kernels (do this inside a large, wide bowl, so it catches all the flying kernels). Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, add the spices and make a well in the centre. Put the egg yolks and half the milk in the well, beat the mixture until smooth, then slowly whisk in the rest of the milk. Fold in the corn, onions, chilli, lime juice and zest, and coriander. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, gently fold them into the batter and season.
Heat a heavy-based frying pan on a medium high heat and add a small knob of butter and a dribble of oil. Drop two heaped tablespoons of batter into the pan and fry on medium heat for three minutes a side, until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to the oven while you repeat with the rest of the batter.
Mix all the yoghurt ingredients, then season. Serve the fritters with the yoghurt on the side; a simple salad of coriander leaves, baby gem and finely chopped spring onions wouldn’t go amiss, either.
Quail and spicy warm corn salad
The sweet, comforting salad is a lovely partner for the gently spiced quail; it would also work well with chicken thighs or wings. Serves four.
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 tbsp honey
25g brown sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 quail
For the salad
4 corn cobs (or 670g frozen kernels)
2 large vine tomatoes
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 spring onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
A few pinches of ground allspice (optional)
2 limes, zested and juiced
1 handful coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1 handful mint leaves, roughly chopped
1-2 jalapeño chillies, finely chopped
Warm the cumin in a dry frying pan, then grind in a mortar with the garlic. Add the lemon, honey, sugar and oil, grind again, season well and rub all over the quail. Cover and refrigerate for anything up to a day.
When you are ready to cook, heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Pop the quail in a small roasting tin, pour over any excess marinade and roast for 20 minutes, basting halfway through, until golden brown, sticky and cooked. Cover the birds with tin foil and leave them somewhere warm to rest while you make the salad.
Shave the corn from the cobs (see first recipe). Put the tomatoes in a bowl, cover with boiling water, leave for 30 seconds, then drain. Peel, quarter and deseed the tomatoes, then cut the flesh into small dice.
Heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan on a medium heat and add half the oil. Saute the corn, spring onions and garlic for five to 10 minutes, and season well with salt, pepper and allspice, if using. Once the corn is tender and has taken on some colour, take the pan off the heat and stir in the lime zest and juice. Toss with all the other salad ingredients, including the tomatoes and remaining oil, and serve alongside the quail.
And for the rest of the week…
Corn is really inexpensive at this time of year, so it’s only common sense to make the most of it. One of my favourite way of cooking whole cobs is to barbecue them and then douse them in a mix of butter, chipotle mayonnaise, feta and fresh lime; harissa butter, feta and chopped coriander is another good combo. The corn salad makes a delicious lunch – I like it sprinkled with feta, lancashire or pecorino cheese and stuffed into a warm pitta bread.
