A friend emailed the other day (well, actually he wrote on my Facebook page, a form of communication I’m still getting used to) to say that he had nasturtiums in his garden. So I thought of this recipe, which I’d tested for a review of Ana Sortun’s wonderful cookbook, Spice. The pancakes are awesome; the review is linked here, with recipes for Sortun’s spoon lamb and Arabic coffee pots de creme, both pretty amazing too. If anyone’s in Cambridge, Mass, you should check out her restaurant, Oleana.
ANA SORTUN’S CORN CAKES WITH NASTURTIUM BUTTER
Servings: 4 to 8
Note: From “Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean,” by Ana Sortun
2 cups fresh sweet corn (about 4 to 6 ears)
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped scallions (about 4)
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 whole eggs
3/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon salted butter, at room temperature, divided
2 cups nasturtium blossoms, washed, dried and finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1. Using a food processor fitted with a metal blade, puree the corn, onion and scallions for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture is finely chopped and starts to become creamy.
2. Place the pureed corn cake batter in a medium mixing bowl and whisk in the light brown sugar and eggs. Stir in the flour and finally the cream. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, use a whisk to combine 1 stick of the butter with the nasturtium blossoms and basil and season with one-fourth teaspoon salt and one-eighth teaspoon pepper. Whip this mixture for a few minutes with the whisk until the flowers are well incorporated and the butter is light and fluffy and stained with bits of flowers.
4. In a large nonstick skillet or heavy cast-iron pan over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter, until it starts to brown. Add one-fourth cup of the corn cake batter at a time to form 4 corn cakes or however many your pan can fit. Lower the heat to medium and cook the cakes on one side until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Flip the cakes with a spatula and cook the other side for another 4 minutes.
5. Remove the cakes from the heat and place a tablespoon of nasturtium butter on each to melt over the hot cakes.
6. Make 4 more cakes with the remaining batter, repeating the same process with the remaining tablespoon of butter. Serve them immediately, warm or hot.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
corn and flowers reminds me of ancient offerings to Tonaztin, the Aztec earth/corn goddess.
I was going to complain that my nasturiums are done blooming way before I have corn–then I saw the first corn of the season at the Virginia Park Farmer’s Market. Guess what’s on the menu tonight?!
Update: Delicious!! Two changes: didn’t really need a whole stick of nasturtium butter and the pureeing only took about 30 seconds–I wanted a little of texture. Otherwise, a keeper for the nasturtium/fresh corn overlap season. Thanks.