Corn Cakes Topped with Taco-Spiced Vegetables

23:44:00 Unknown 0 Comments

Even before living in Texas I adored Mexican food. Luckily for me, Mexican cuisine can easily be made vegetarian with the right spices and accompaniments. This recipe feels very Tex-Mex as it combines southern-style corn cakes with the spices of Mexico in the vegetables. Guacamole would have made this dish even butter but some sour cream or greek yoghurt was super tasty too. Don't forget the fish lime squeezed on top! To kick the corn cakes up a notch I'd recommend using a griddle, which I unfortunately (poor student here!) don't have. Hope you give this light dinner a try.




Ingredients Serves 3-4

Vegetables 

1 red pepper
1 red onion
200g of mushrooms
1 large courgette

Taco Seasoning 
1 tbsp paprika
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chilli powder (desired heat)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Corn Cakes 
150g of flour
1 tbsp honey
100g fine corn flour or cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
200ml of yoghurt
1 egg
4 tbsp of flavourless oil

Toppings: fresh coriander (cilantro), 1 lime cut into wedges, greek yoghurt

Preparation 

1. Chop the vegetables into long strips about 1 cm wide. 
2. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients: flour, cornmeal and baking powder. 
3. In another, smaller bowl combine the wet ingredients: honey, oil, yoghurt and milk.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. 
5. Set aside. 
6. Heat a large frying pan onto medium/high heat. Add a drizzle of oil into the pan. 
7. Add the onions and fry until translucent. Add 1 tbsp of the taco seasoning and quickly heat through with the onion. 
8. Add the rest of the vegetables and cooking for 8-10 minutes or until fully cooked through. 
9. Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan onto medium heat. Add a small knob of butter or a drizzle of flavourless oil into the pan. 
10. Scoop two heaped tablespoons of batter into a the heated pan. 
11. Cook the corn cakes for 2 minutes on either side until golden. 
12. Keep warm either by covering them or keeping them in a low-temp oven. Alternatively you can quickly toast the corn cakes before serving. 
13. To serve simply top the corn cakes with the vegetables and garnish with fresh coriander, greek yoghurt and a squeeze of lime. 

Adobo Acorn Squash, Crispy Quinoa, and Jalapeño Chimichurri