When I was a kid, my mum used to make corn fritters for Sunday supper. If there was any lamb left over from the lamb roast on Saturday night, she would make lamb fritters as well, but the corn fritters were always my favourite. I don’t think she ever used fresh corn; they were always made with canned cream corn, a bit of onion, and seasoned with salt and pepper. In winter, as an extra treat, we’d eat the fritters with a bowl of Heinz canned tomato soup – as a ten-year-old, that was gourmet heaven!

These corn fritters come from Bill Granger, who almost single-handedly rescued the corn fritter from its Sunday night obscurity and put them on breakfast menus in cafes around Australia. With Bill’s technique, the batter is processed, which gives the fritters a bit of the creamed corn texture of my mum’s Sunday night fritters. The big difference is these fritters are packed with fresh coriander. If you’re not a coriander fan, you could use any soft herb, dill, parsley, basil or a combination of herbs. In keeping with the contemporary take on the corn fritter, I generally serve these fritters with some kind of salsa. At this time of year, the pomegranate salsa is a refreshing contrast. They’re good for breakfast, lunch or a light dinner, or as a  side for a more substantial meal (they’re also outstanding with black beans).

Bill’s sweetcorn fritters

Adapted from Bill’s Food by Bill Granger

• 500 grams fresh corn kernels cut from 3 large corn cobs (about 3 cups)
• 1 small red onion chopped
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup of coriander leaves and some stems (lightly packed)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 4 tablespoons of light olive oil.

1. Preheat oven to 120°C (250°F).
2. Place two cups of corn kernels, onion, coriander, salt, pepper, flour, baking powder and eggs in large bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined. The batter should still be lumpy – be careful not to over process or your fritters will be tough.
3. Transfer batter to a bowl and stir through remaining corn kernels.
4. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a non-stick fry pan over medium/high heat.
5. Drop batter (about two tablespoons per fritter) into a frypan and cook until golden brown on both sides.
6. Drain on paper towels, and keep warm in oven while you cook the remaining fritters.
7. Serve with guacamole, salsa and a squeeze of lime or lemon juice.