These fritters were a hit at the Made in Georgia Festival! Chef Olivia demonstrated how to use Georgia Grown ingredients like fresh roasted corn, GG’s Sugared Peppers, Grump’s blueberry pepper jelly, Georgia blueberries from Cogdell Farms, Oliver Farm’s pecan oil and Sutton Mill Creek’s hickory syrup to make what are essentially the fanciest hushpuppies you’ve ever eaten. Try them for a Georgia Grown brunch alongside satsuma juice mimosas!
Makes about 32 fritters
Ingredients:
- 1 cup self-rising cornmeal
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 cup roasted corn kernels (directions below)
- ¼ cup coarsely diced candied jalapeños, such as GG’s Sugared Peppers
Directions:
To roast corn
Shuck 2 ears fresh sweet corn, rub with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill over high heat, turning frequently for 8-10 minutes until charred in places and fully cooked. Or, preheat broiler, place corn on a baking sheet, and roast on the top-middle rack of the oven for about 10 minutes, turning frequently until charred in places.
Cut kernels off the cob and reserve 1 cup. Save the remainder for another use (salsa, peach/arugula salad, esquites, etc).
To make fritters
- Whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine beaten eggs and milk. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, and whisk just until combined. Do not overmix. Add melted butter, corn kernels, and peppers, and mix well.
- Set a deep fryer to 350 degrees, or heat 2 inches of oil in a heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Drop rounded tablespoons of batter into the hot oil and fry, turning frequently, until golden brown, crisp, and cooked through, about 4 minutes for each fritter. Remove onto a paper towel lined plate. Repeat with remaining batter.
To make mascarpone pepper jelly dip
Makes about 1 ½ cups
- ¾ cup plain yogurt
- ¾ cup mascarpone cheese
- 3 tablespoons blueberry pepper jelly
Place yogurt and mascarpone in a medium bowl. Whip with a hand mixer until creamy. Add pepper jelly and mix to combine.
To make blueberry hickory compote
Makes about 1 cup
- 1 pint fresh Georgia blueberries
- ¼ cup hickory syrup
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Place blueberries, lemon juice and hickory syrup in a small saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer over medium low heat for 8-10 minutes, until blueberries have released their juices and liquid has reduced to a syrup.
Serve cream and compote on the side. Guests can cut fritters in half, spread cream on each cut side, then drizzle with blueberry-hickory compote.
Try these with ice cream!
