Proud Italian Cook

Summer Corn and Shrimp Fritters

July 29, 2020 by Marie 11 Comments

Tis the season to make fritters! It’s summertime and everyones garden is bursting with fresh vegetables as well as the farmers markets and grocery stores. I’ve been seeing all sorts of fritters being made of broccoli, cauliflower, but the most popular in the summer are ones made with zucchini or corn.

Today we’re pairing shrimp with corn in a fritter. Summer fresh corn and shrimp go really well together and are the perfect combination, it takes on a high end kind of flavor experience.

Crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside with pops of sweet corn in every bite. Serve these for a midweek dinner and if you have leftovers they heat up well and are delicious for lunch, I’ve even made them for a fancy girls summer dinner party.

This recipe makes quite a few fritters, ten to twelve depending on the size. You can prep and form them early in the day then stick them into the fridge to get chilled before you pan fry them, these are not deep fried but rather requires just enough of a drizzle of oil to cover the bottom of a pan.

You can up the seasoning on the inside with smoked paprika, a cajun spice, some Old Bay seasoning or just leave it as in with the basic recipe, either way it’s all good!

Golden brown and crispy ready to be dipped into a sauce of your liking. I’ve served them with a spicy and sweet chili sauce, a lemon aioli, a mango and peach chutney, believe me it’s all good!

Summer Corn and Shrimp Fritters

Author: Marie

Ingredients

1 lb. shrimp, raw, peeled and deveined and patted dry
3 medium ears of corn, shucked
3 eggs, whisked
3 green onions, sliced with a little bit of the green not all
1 cup of AP flour
¾ cup of shredded cheddar
1 smashed garlic clove, large
basil and parsley a heaping tablespoon each, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Optional spice like smoked paprika, Old Bay, cajun, maybe a heaping teaspoon
olive oil for pan frying

Instructions

Take ⅔ of the shrimp and place it into a food processor and pulse it into a paste, remove it with a spatula and place it into a large bowl.
Take the remaining shrimp and roughly chop it into small pieces, then add to the bowl.
Then add in the eggs, garlic, parsley, green onions, basil, seasoning, flour and cheddar, mix well then add in the shucked corn continuing to incorporate it all.
Form the mixture into patty's.
Refrigerate them for a couple of hours.
When it's time to cook them remove patty's from fridge.
Drizzle olive oil on the bottom of a heated non stick skillet and pan fry each side until nice and golden and fully cooked inside.
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce like a lemon aioli, or a sweet and spicy chili sauce or even a peach or mango chutney.
This recipe I was able to make 11 fritters, so anywhere between 10 and 12 you should yield.

11 Comments Filed Under: Appetizers, Seafood, Summer, Vegetables Tagged: fritters, shrimp, sweet corn

Summers Magic Sauce, Basil Pesto Cream

July 19, 2020 by Marie 4 Comments

It’s no secret that I have fondness for fresh basil, I look forward to summertime when I can walk out into my garden and pick my own. This season has been particularly great for growing it as you can tell by my beautiful bounty pictured above, at least 2020 was good for something…

It’s mid July here and so far I’ve used my basil in so many different meals, plus I’ve already made pesto a couple of times, some for me and some for family and friends. I like making pesto, it can be used to enhance so many dishes, it’s so intense in flavor, I love it!

One of my absolute favorite treats whenever I make basil pesto is to turn it into a cream sauce. Ok, let’s stop here and let me say that if you’ve never tasted a basil pesto cream sauce, you’re really missing out!

It’s beyond decadent and creamy and so delicious with seafood, meats, veggies, pasta, I could go on and on, and the best thing is, it’s super simple to make.

It’s definitely summers magic sauce!

It all starts with the making of your own homemade basil pesto, very important, homemade. Here’s how I do it.

It’s so delicious because it’s filled with fresh basil leaves, quality parmesan cheese, garlic and toasted nuts. I guess you could use store bought in a pinch as long as it’s a good quality one, but I really recommend you making your own, it really makes a difference.

There are very few ingredients used to make this luscious sauce, just your homemade pesto and some heavy cream, how easy is that?

Grab a pint of heavy cream, it must be heavy, pour it into a saucepan and simmer it low and slow until it starts to thicken, you’ll begin to see the cream bubbling along the edges of the pan.

When it thickens turn off the heat and start adding your prepared basil pesto, tablespoon by tablespoon whisk it in, it should be a nice balance between the pesto and the cream.

No need to add any other seasoning, it’s a wonderful marriage of the two. If you end up with some leftover sauce it heats up well the next day just put it on a low flame and maybe add a little more cream to loosen it up, but making it the day you’re going to use it is best.

I recently seared some scallops and placed them into a puddle of this scrumptious sauce, no words, pure deliciousness!

Think of it smeared on salmon, into your favorite pasta shape, roasted or grilled veggies and different meats, like I said, the possibilities are endless. I hope you make this magic sauce!

4 Comments Filed Under: Sauces, Seafood, Summer Tagged: Basil, basil cream sauce, basil cream scallops, Pesto, summer basil

Creamy Polenta With Summer Garden Veggies

July 10, 2020 by Marie 3 Comments

Since I started this blog way back in 2007 ( next month will be 13 years!) I have posted many different polenta recipes, needless to say we adore polenta in our house.

If you do a search here on my blog you’ll find polenta muffins, polenta biscotti, a polenta tart, croutons, grilled polenta and many different ways to serve it with meat, eggs and various vegetables that are highlighted during the seasons.

Today I made a creamy polenta that showcases all the summer garden veggies like corn and zucchini that are readily available right now. It’s a fun and very delicious way to highlight both.

I use instant polenta which takes no time at all to cook up, and if you prep a few of the other ingredients ahead of time, this comes together quickly.

I roasted a pint of cherry tomatoes the other day and I had some grilled corn leftover from the weekend so I added zucchini and yellow squash and picked some fresh basil from my garden. Just a few ingredients makes such a spectacular meal, but this can also serve as a side dish with something you cook up on the grill.

I also like to serve this up alongside grilled shrimp, it’s such a nice combo!

So all you have to do is whisk up some creamy polenta, top it off with julienned strips of zucchini, smokey charred corn along with sweet, juicy roasted cherry tomatoes. Polenta tends to firm up after it sits for a while so if you have leftovers no problem, cut it into wedges and serve it like a pizza!

A summertime dish you won’t forget!

Creamy Polenta With Summer Garden Veggies

Author: Marie

Ingredients

2 ears of grilled corn with planks cut off the cob, make some planks along with the kernals
1 small zucchini, julienned
1 small yellow squash, julienned
a squeeze of fresh lemon
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, rainbow colored
2 green onions, sliced
fresh basil
olive oil
FOR THE POLENTA
1 cup of instant polenta
3 cups of chicken or vegetable broth preferably, or water
½ cup parmigiano cheese
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons of chopped basil
additional ¼ cup or so of water to thin it out a bit if needed at the end

Instructions

Prep your tomatoes by placing them whole on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Drizzle generously with olive oil all over and sprinkle with salt and pepper, if made the day before just warm them up a bit the day of.
Roast at 400 until they burst and all the juices mingle with the oil.
Grill both ears of corn cutting the kernels off the cob and making some into planks, it looks nice when placed on top of the polenta.
Julienne both zucchini and yellow squash then place into a bowl and add a squeeze of lemon and a little olive oil just to wilt them down a bit.
MAKE THE POLENTA
In a medium saucepan add the broth or water, get it to a boil and whisk in the polenta, now turn the heat down and let it cook til it thickens, it doesn’t take long.
Shut off the heat and stir in the butter, chopped basil and parmigiano, taste for seasoning adding salt and pepper, maybbe more cheese.
When polenta is finished pour it into your serving dish and "decorate" the top to your liking with all the ingredients including the green onion and extra sprinkle of basil and cheese for finishing. You'll probably have some leftover ingredients, especially the roasted tomatoes.Be sure to spoon some of the tomato oil on too.
Serve immediately and enjoy!