Corn and Zucchini Baked Fritter

from the San Francisco Chronicle, June 22, 2007 

via Judy Gray 

makes 2 dozen

3 ears sweet corn (or 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed)

2 small zucchini, diced and seeds removed (about 2 cups) 

1 medium shallot, minced (a generous tablespoonful) 

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour, divided

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons salt or to taste

black pepper to taste

3 ounces mild Gruyere cheese, grated

3/4 cup whole milk

1 large egg

1 tablespoon melted butter

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce or to taste

crème fraîche for garnish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a pot of well-salted water to boil. Blanch corn until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool. Cut the corn kernels off the cob and then add the zucchini; the amounts of each should be similar, but more zucchini is all right too. Add the shallot.

In a separate bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and pepper; mix well. In another bowl, toss Gruyere cheese with the remaining 1/4 cup flour to ensure that the cheese is distributed throughout the batter; discard any loose flour. In a small bowl, blend milk, egg and melted butter with a fork or small whisk and add hot sauce to taste. Pour the milk mixture into the bowl of flour. Stir until just combined; then fold in the corn mixture and 3/4 of the grated cheese/flour mixture.

Place generous spoonfuls of batter (about 2 tablespoons) onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into a fritter comes out clean, about 12 to 15 minutes. Run fritters under the broiler to brown for about 3 minutes.

Serve warm with a garnish of crème fraîche. You can make tablespoon-sized fritters as hors d'oeuvres.