Oh Most Beautiful Fritters

School funding has been a long standing problem in the state of Ohio. As a result, when my two boys were in elementary school the local district had a funding crisis and eliminated bussing for anything beyond the state minimum mandate. This included bussing for elementary school kids that were within a certain distance of the school, regardless of how many large, heavily trafficked streets in between. As we were just within the radius, our bussing was eliminated.

A group of families from the street banded together and started carpooling. At the time the Ranting Wife was working part-time so she became a regular for the after school pickup. This arrangement continued for several years and while the distance between the school and the street was a short one, the afternoon pickup was a collection of kids who had been restrained from hours of school and couldn’t help but release their excitement. The trip was always noisy and rambunctious.

One afternoon the kids arrived talking about their new nicknames. Many were fantastical and after getting into the car, one of the riders asked my wife what nickname she wanted to be called. Thinking quickly, she responded “Oh Most Beautiful One”. Upon hearing this, one of the neighbor boys shrugged and said, “OK, almost beautiful one”!

I’d say these fritters are almost beautiful too.

When you have lots of zucchini, this is a good way to use some of it.

Shred the zucchini and press it dry.

The corn and the onions.

All together in the bowl.

Fritter mounds in the hot oil.

Flipped over.

Oh Most Beautiful Fritters!

Zucchini-Corn Fritters

Prep Time: 0 hours 25 minutes | Cook Time: 0 hours 20 minutes | Makes: 6 to 8 servings | Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 2 medium zucchini, coarsely shredded
• Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 ears corn, kernels cut off
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• Freshly ground pepper
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions:

Toss the zucchini with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl; let stand 10 minutes. Wrap the zucchini in a kitchen towel and squeeze dry.

Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 4 minutes. Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

Whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Whisk the buttermilk and egg in a large bowl, then stir in the corn-onion mixture and zucchini. Add the cornmeal mixture and stir until just combined.

Heat about 1/8 inch vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, scoop scant 1/4 cupfuls of the batter into the oil and use the back of the measuring cup to flatten the scoops. Cook until the fritters are golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Serve warm or at room temperature. (You can make the fritters up to 2 hours ahead; reheat in a 375 degrees F oven on a rack set on a baking sheet.)

Source: http://m.foodnetwork.com/recipes/recipe/560281