Recipe: Corn Pancakes with Sour Cream & Caviar

Recipe

Corn Pancakes
with Sour Cream & Caviar

Makes about 24 2-inch pancakes

These savory cornmeal cakes are moist, tender and speckled with fresh corn kernels. I love to eat them slathered with sour cream and topped with tiny spoonfuls of black caviar, which is exactly the way a similar corn cake is served at Arcadia restaurant in New York City. Serve as a first course or as a brunch dish. For a more traditional version, omit the onion and serve with sweet butter or warm maple syrup.

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup corn kernels, preferably fresh (drained canned kernels may be substituted)
1 tablespoon grated onion
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs, separated
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
l-1/2 cups sour cream
2 ounces golden or black caviar

1. Into a large bowl, sift together the cornmeal, flour, baking soda and salt. Add the corn, onion and a grinding of black pepper; stir to coat.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of the butter until blended. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.

3. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients just until blended. Add the beaten whites and gently fold in just until blended.

4. Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat until hot enough to sizzle a drop of water. Brush with a thin film of vegetable oil, or spray with nonstick cooking spray. For each pancake, pour a scant 1/4 cup batter onto the griddle or into the skillet. Adjust the heat to medium-low. Cook until the tops are covered with small bubbles, the bottoms are lightly browned and the edges are beginning to set, Carefully turn and lightly brown the other side. Repeat with the remaining batter.

5. Brush the warm pancakes with the remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter. Top each with 1 tablespoon sour cream and 1/2 teaspoon caviar and serve.

From: Pancakes A to Z
by Marie Simmons
Photos by Richard High
A Chapters Book/Houghton Mifflin, $15.00
96 pages; November 10, 1997
ISBN: 1-57630-04309
Recipes and photos reprinted by permission.