green onion grit frits with chipotle black bean salsa

I brought this appetizer to a potluck dinner the other night, and when I left none of these left with me! These are corn, grit, green onion and cheese fritters with a chipotle black bean, orange bell pepper, tomato, fresh cilantro and mango salsa on top of a creamy sour cream and mayo spread. The fritters right off of the skillet were warm, crispy on the outside, and just slightly sweet from the corn. So I totally recommend serving them soon off the skillet if you can! And the sweetness in the corn paired so well with the sweet mango in the salsa. I love foods that have a rich side and then a more playful, fun and light side, and this appetizer is just that! You could bring this to a dinner party, enjoy these by the pool, or serve them with a fish, chicken or steak. They're really versatile! First I'll explain how you can make these just like in the picture, then explain how you can cut down on prep!

So first off, I want to say this is a hybrid sort of from two other recipes I found one of which was on pinterest and one was on epicurious.com. The first recipe I saw was a sweet potato cake with a black bean salsa and sour cream topping. I liked the salsa and sour cream combo, but I'm not a big fan of sweet potato. So I thought a fried corn cake could be a good substitute. But I had no idea how to make a fried corn cake! I looked on the internet and found this recipe: www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/fried-corn-cakes-with-green-onions-5182 But I wanted to change and make it just the way I wanted and I thought grits would be such a good way to make it a little different. If you don't like grits, you can use the above recipe! So that being said, here are the ingredients you'll need for the grit frits I came up with:

(makes about 12 2 inch radius frits)

1/2 cup cooked grits

1/2 cup flour (not instant!)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 and a splash milk

1 egg

1/2 cup kernels canned, fresh, or frozen corn (I used canned)

2 tsp creamed corn

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1 table spoon white vinegar

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 tablespoon sugar

Salsa:

1 tomato, diced

half bell pepper, diced

half mango, diced

1/4 cup cilantro chopped

1 cup whole canned black beans

half lime

1 tablespoon chipotle tobasco

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

Sour cream spread:

4 tablespoons sour cream

2 tablespoons mayo

Start off by making the grits. I used a regular on-the-stove type grits and made the one serving option. It makes about a cup of grits and then you'll use half of that. I also used milk in the grits instead of water. This makes the grits much more rich and flavorful. However, doing it this way requires you to constantly stir the milk until it comes to a boil so the milk doesn't burn. It takes a little extra time, but if you have that extra time it's really worth it!

After the grits have cooked measure out a 1/2 cup full and set in the freezer. The grits need to be pretty cool because you'll be mixing them with egg later and you don't want the egg to cook with the right off the stove grits! You can also make the grits the night before or earlier in the day if you have time so you don't have to put them in the freezer.

While the grits are in the freezer, start chopping up all of the vegetables, mango and cilantro for the salsa and set those aside. Rinse the black beans in a strainer and separate them so that you have two half cup measurements. Mash one of those half cup measurements up with a spoon. Mix the Chipotle Tabasco and chili powder together in a separate bowl. Set all aside in the fridge. I do it this way because I want the salsa to taste and look as fresh as possible. The longer the salsa sits together the more the colors start to fade and the cilantro wilts, so it's best to mix it all together last.

Now it's time to make the grit frits. If you know you're not going to be able to serve these right away you have two options: first, set the oven to 275 degrees to place the fritters in after you've cooked them. Second, cover a plate in a clean dish towel and prepare to put the fritters under the dish towel to stay warm. Both work well.

Start off by heating the skillet on medium heat with two tablespoons of oil. I used vegetable oil. Mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in one bowl. Mix together the cooled grits, egg, milk, creamed corn, and cheddar cheese in another. Then add these together in one bowl. Add the green onions and corn in next. After doing this the skillet should be adequately warmed. Ladle out a little less than a 1/4 cup mixture into the pan.

Let the frits sit in the skillet for a couple of minutes until you see the sides on the bottom start to brown and bubbles start to form on the top. Then flip them like a pancake! when flipped the frits should be golden brown.

While a few are cooking, start to mix together the mayo and sour cream and mix together the salsa. Squeeze half a lime in the salsa when you are done mixing. Once they're cooked add a dallop of sourcream spread and a spoonful of salsa. Then sprinkle with cilantro and cheese and enjoy!

I will say, these fritters are exactly quick to make. They're a bit of a time investment for sure as the total time to make it just how I explained is about 40 minutes. However, it's really worth it in the end because they're so delicious!

If you don't have a lot of time though, here are some tips to cut down on prep time. First of all you can make the grits ahead of time. While it's still the same overall time, it at least breaks it up. You can also make the salsa ahead of time too, because it keeps very well. The lime helps that. You can also just make the grits with water and start chopping and making the salsa and getting the dry ingredients ready for the frits. That way you're not stirring milk for 10 minutes over the stove. Voila! 10 minutes back! If you just want a quick appetizer at the last minute you could also scrap the grit frits completely and use tortilla chips instead!

If you have good suggestions for a shorter prep time, share them here! And don't forget to share your stories and "bites," too! Happy eating!