Corn Cakes with Avocado Relish

Although these sound unique, Corn Cakes are a family favorite!  They are so full of flavor, and make a perfect sweet, summery meal.  Even my kids can't resist dipping them into ranch dressing and eating them like chicken nuggets!

Corn Cakes with Avocado Relish
-Alyssa Griffeth-

For the corn cakes:
1 16 oz. bag of frozen WHITE corn
1 c. flour
½ c. cornmeal
¼ c. red onion, finely diced
¼ c. thinly sliced fresh basil
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
freshly ground pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. buttermilk
2 tbsp. butter, melted
Canola or vegetable oil, for frying

For the Avocado Relish:
1 large tomato, cored and chopped
1 scallion, minced
1 tbsp. minced fresh basil
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice of half a lime
1½ tsp. olive oil
1½ tsp. white wine vinegar
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 ripe avocado, pitted and diced

Homemade Ranch dressing, for serving Romaine lettuce, chopped

Thaw corn and place in food processor, pulsing several times, until the corn is slightly pureed but still chunky. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and add theflour, cornmeal, onion, basil, baking powder, and baking soda. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir to mix well. Add the eggs, buttermilk, and butter,and stir just to combine.  Set aside.

To make the salsa, combine all of the ingredients except the avocado in a medium bowl and mix well to combine. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.Just before serving, mix in the avocado.

Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add just enough oil to barely cover the bottom of the pan and heat until sizzling hot.  Using a cookie scoop (orsomething similar) scoop the batter into the skillet 2 tablespoons at a time, and press down to flatten slightly.  Cook the cakes in batches of 5 or 6, making
sure they do not touch.  Fry approximately 2 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer the cooked cakes to a wire rack and and quicklysprinkle with kosher salt.  Repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve immediately on a bed of romaine, topped with the relish, and drizzled with ranch dressing.

The recipe and image were copied directly from cookingalamode