Thai Style Corn Pancakes with Fresh Chunky Tomato Salsa

Once again I have been inspired by the herbs in my garden.  This morning the Thai basil looked like it needed a haircut. I thought about making some sort of refreshing herbal beverage but the corn pancake idea won out. My husband, Scott loves corn and bless his heart, anything made in a frying pan! I'm having a dinner party this weekend and thought these corn pancakes would make a fun appetizer for my guests. I found this recipe in Mark Bittman's 'How To Cook Everything Vegetarian' which is a comprehensive guide to vegetarian food. I made a few changes in the recipe but one of the things I like about this cookbook is all the variations for each recipe that he lists, which I think encourages us to use our own creativity when we cook.

Make the tomato salsa first because it should sit awhile for the flavors develop.  Next put together the corn pancakes which need to be served immediately after cooking.

Ingredients and Directions for the Chunky Tomato Salsa
I also want to note that I made this salsa chunky because I used large heirloom tomatoes which I like better cut in chunks.

2 large fresh heirloom tomatoes, chopped
1/2 medium white onion minced
1 small minced garlic clove
1 small jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh Thai basil
2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine everything in a medium size bowl and taste for seasoning. Make at least 15-20 minutes ahead to let the flavors develop.

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients and Directions for Thai Style Corn Pancakes
Serves 6

2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup finely chopped green scallions
1 small jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
2 cups fresh corn, stripped raw from the cobs
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons grapeseed oil, for frying
Limes cut in wedges for serving
Thai basil flowers for garnish

In a large bowl combine the egg yolks, scallions, chile, corn, soy sauce, flour, a pinch of salt and ground pepper to taste. Beat the egg whites until fairly stiff. Put the oil on to heat, when it is hot enough quickly fold the egg whites into the corn mixture. Spoon pancake size dollops into the pan. I used a scant 1/2 cup for each pancake which yielded 6 fairly nice size pancakes. I made 3 pancakes at a time in a 10¨ skillet. Cook until they're nicely brown, just a few minutes on each side. Serve immediately with the tomato salsa and a wedge of lime.