Meals for Under £10: Corn cakes with Mexican beans

THESE corn cakes are made from an easy batter, with beaten egg whites to make them really light and fluffy.

Chef Tom Kerridge says serving with the warmly spiced Mexican beans, they make a relaxed breakfast-meets-lunch dish.

The dish features in Tom’s cookbook, Fresh Start, out now and published by Bloomsbury Absolute.

You’ll need

Vegetable oil

1 red onion

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp sweet smoked paprika

400g tin chopped tomatoes

400g tin kidney beans

100ml water

Sea salt and ground pepper

340g tinned sweetcorn

4 spring onions

75g mature Cheddar

100g self-raising flour

50g cornflour

2 free-range eggs

80ml milk

1-2 tbsp olive oil,

1 ripe avocado,

1 lime

Coriander

Method

For the beans, heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the onion for two mins, then add garlic. Sprinkle in the spices, stir for a min, add tinned tomatoes, kidney beans and water. Simmer for 15 mins.

For the corn cakes, preheat the oven to 140C/Fan 120C/Gas 1. Put sweetcorn kernels, spring onions, cheese, flour, cornflour, salt and pepper into a bowl and combine.

Separate the yolks and whites into two bowls. Add milk to yolks, beat well, then pour in the corn mixture and mix. Whisk the whites to soft peaks, then gently fold into the corn mix.

Cook the corn cakes in batches. Heat a little oil in a non-stick pan. When hot, drop 3 or 4 tbsps of the mix into the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes until bubbles appear on the surface, then flip and cook for 2-3 minutes on the other side. Make about 20 cakes in total.

Just before serving, gently reheat the beans. Serve with the corn cakes, avocado slices, lime wedges and fresh coriander.