Zucchini & Corn Cakes

On Friday afternoons at Wegmans Food Markets, you can practically consume a meal as you taste the samples they offer from one side of the store to another.

My favorite samples are usually in the produce department, because they sample Wegmans-created recipes that incorporate fresh fruits or veggies. Here's a recent one I sampled at Wegmans, then made at home. It uses two veggies that are in season right now -- sweet corn and zucchini. After making them, I would prefer more corn and less zucchini, and a smaller pancake, both of which I indicated in the recipe below. I also used less oil than the original recipe called for. You can serve them as a side dish, or go even smaller and serve them as appetizers.

Zucchini & Corn Cakes
Adapted from www.Wegmans.com

2 medium zucchini, cored, seeded & shredded
5 large ears of corn, shucked, kernels removed
2 green onions, trimmed, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)
1 cup Hime Tempura Batter Mix (or 1 1/2 cups Bisquick, but I recommend the Tempura mix)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 large eggs
1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used less), divided

Sour cream or parmesan cheese, for garnish

Stir together zucchini, corn, onions, oregano, tempura batter, salt, pepper, eggs, and water in large bowl until well-mixed.

Brush vegetable oil in large skillet or griddle (I used a nonstick electric griddle) on medium until oil faintly smokes.

Drop batter onto griddle, 1/4 cup at a time, and spread to form 2 to 3-inch pancakes with back of spoon. Cook on first side until golden-brown. Turn over; cook until golden brown. Transfer to serving plate; keep warm.

If necessary, add 1 Tbsp oil before each new batch of pancakes. Repeat step 3 until all batter is used.

Serve with sour cream or grated parmesan cheese, if desired.

The plan had been to contribute this to the weekly ARF/5-A-Day roundup at Sweetnicks -- but I missed the last post of that blog event by a week. Many thanks to Cate of Sweetnicks by hosting it for a long while!