Hominy Fritters with Bacon Thyme Dipping Sauce
A modern take on hush puppies, these fritters get their rich flavour from whole kernels of hominy and savoury thyme. Pair with a dipping sauce of bacon, thyme, hot and sour.
Ingredients
Preparation
Fry the bacon in a large frying pan on medium heat until crisp. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Add hominy to the pan with the bacon fat and juices. Cook and stir for five minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Place pepper jelly (or sweet chilli dipping sauce), vinegar, ½ tsp Thyme and three slices of the cooked bacon in a small food processor and blend on high until it is smooth, then set aside. Chop the remaining bacon slices into small pieces and set aside.
Mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, Sea Salt, Garlic Granules and the remaining tsp of Thyme in a large bowl. Add the spring onions, the remaining chopped bacon, eggs and milk. Stir until just blended. Gently stir in the hominy. The batter will be lumpy. Do not over stir.
Deep fry as follows. Heat the oil to 180°C, 350°F. Drop 1 tbs of the batter at a time, into the hot oil. Fry in small batches for 4 minutes, or until golden brown, turning once. Skim the oil and remove any crumbs between batches. Drain on paper towels. Serve with Bacon Thyme Dipping Sauce.