Fresh Corn & Tomato Fritters

Ingredients

For the black pepper-buttermilk dressing:

1/3 c. mayonnaise

1/3 c. low-fat buttermilk

3 T. finely chopped dill pickle

1 t. minced shallot

1 t. freshly ground black pepper

1 t. red wine vinegar

salt to taste

For the corn fritters:

2 1/2 lb. fresh corn (after it's shucked, it should be about 2 lb.)

1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. cornmeal

1 whole egg, plus one egg white, lightly beaten

2 T. buttermilk

1 1/2 t. minced fresh thyme

1 T. honey

1/2 t. salt

3/4 c. vegetable oil (plus additional, if needed)

Preparation

Prepare the dressing: In a small bowl combine all of the dressing ingredients, season with salt to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Make the fritters: Cut the kernels off of half of the corn into a large bowl. Using a box grater, grate the remaining corn off the cobs into the bowl with the whole kernels. Then using the back of a chef's knife scrape all of the corn cobs, to remove any of the remaining sweet corn pulp into the bowl. Add the flour, cornmeal, eggs, 2 T. buttermilk, thyme, honey and salt. Mix.

Heat 3/4 c. oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until the oil is shimmering. Drop the batter, about 2 T. at a time into the hot oil. Cook until the fritters are golden-brown around the edges, 1-3 minutes. Carefully (see note above:) flip the fritters and cook until deep golden brown on the second side, about 1-2 minutes. Remove fritters to a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with the remaining fritter batter, adding additional oil as necessary to maintain enough oil to cover the bottom of the skillet.

To serve: Stack the fritters and tomatoes how you like. Drizzle with some of the dressing and garnish with the crumbled bacon.