Recipes from the Wine Club: Fresh Cilantro Corn Cakes with Roasted Sweet Pepper Pesto

Bella Cucina’s Artful Foods have earned themselves a permanent place here in Ponte’s Marketplace. With flavorful pestos and delicious sauces, there is always a new recipe to discover under every jar. Today I am sharing a fresh and flavorful recipe for cilantro corn cakes with roasted sweet pepper pesto.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 ears fresh corn
• 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and diced
• 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 six-ounce jar Bella Cucina Sweet Roasted Red Pepper Pesto
• Sprigs of fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

Remove kernels from the ears of corn. In a medium saucepan, heat half of the butter and add corn; sauté until just tender, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and add 2/3 of the corn to a large mixing bowl. Reserve the remaining corn for garnish.

Add flour, baking powder, jalapeno, chopped cilantro, salt and pepper to the mixing bowl with the corn. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and add the milk. Pour the liquid into the flour/corn mixture and stir until smooth. Let the batter sit 2-3 minutes to active the baking powder; the mixture will expand slightly.

In a large non-stick skillet, heat the remaining butter until foamy. Add ½ cup batter for each cake to the pan. When the edges of the cakes begin to bubble and the bottoms are slightly brow, flip over and cook on opposite side.

Serve warm with heated red pepper pesto and garnish with remaining sautéed corn and fresh cilantro leaves.

Purchase your Sweet Pepper Pesto today in our Online Store

–What Ponte Marketplace items are your favorites and how do you use them in your daily cooking?