Warm buttery corn cakes, nestled on a blanket of salsa verde, dolloped in sour cream and southwest sauce, finished with diced tomato salsa, avocado, and fresh cilantro....say it with me Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes.
Combine all ingredients (tomatillos, green chilies, scallion, cilantro, sugar, cumin, salt, and pepper) in a food processor on high speed. Cover and chill.
Fresh Tomato Salsa...
Combine all ingredients (diced tomato, onion, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno, cumin, salt, and pepper) in a small bowl. Cover and chill.
Southwest Sauce...
Combine all ingredients (mayonnaise, vinegar, water, sugar, chili powder, paprika, cayenne, onion powder, salt, and garlic powder) in a small bowl. Cover and chill.
Tamale Cakes...
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Prepare the tamale cakes by chopping 1 cup frozen corn in a food processor until it's coarsely pureed. Combine pureed corn with softened butter, sugar, and salt. Blend well with electric mixer or by hand until smooth.
Add masa and flour and blend well.
Mix in the remaining ½ cup of frozen corn kernels by hand.
Measure ½ cup portions of the mixture and form it into 3" wide patties with your hands (it's a little tricky getting them to stay in patty form...just squeeze them together). I made 6 patties. Will definitely double the corn cake portion of the recipe next time.
Arrange the patties on a baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cakes are browned on the bottom.
Carefully flip all cakes with a spatula and bake for an additional 5 to 7 minutes or until other side is browned.
Presentation...
While the cakes are baking, spoon a portion of the salsa verde onto a plate or platter (you may want to heat up your plate in the oven for a bit to help warm the sauce).
You'll need to use enough salsa verde to coat the entire plate -- it should be about ¼" deep.
Arrange the tamale cakes side-by-side on the salsa verde. Spoon a dollop of sour cream onto each tamale cake.
Spoon some tomato salsa over the cakes, followed by the chopped avocado.
Drizzle the southwestern sauce over the cakes in a crisscross patter (use a squirt bottle if you've got one).
Finish off the plate by sprinkling the coarsely chopped cilantro leaves over the top.