I have fond memories from when I was a little girl of summer time at my grandparents' home in Columbia, TN. I can remember long weekends full of amazing Southern food, the adults playing seemingly endless games of Rook, evening strolls with my Grandmother, and at least once every summer a big family fish fry. The men would leave early in the morning and fish until late afternoon when they would come home and prepare their catch for dinner. Although, I wouldn't eat the fish I fondly remember the mountain of hush puppies that my Papa would make. I would load my plate up with a big pile of them along with a few other sides that my grandmother had put together and I would sit in the floor with the other grand kids and savor every crispy, crunchy, golden bite while watching old Western's. My Papa's hush puppies were simple, straightforward, and not fussed up at all...they were perfect.
Maybe it is the fact that I have a serious case of Spring Fever in what seems to be a never ending Winter here in Georgia or maybe I was just needing to get back to my roots in the midst of all of the change in our lives right now. Whatever the reason, I was feeling somewhat nostalgic a few days ago and had the urge to share with my family a small taste of my childhood. I have to admit I fussed it up a bit with the addition of a juice that I made of cilantro, lime and jalapeno to replace some of the dairy in the original recipe, but it really did make these little hush puppies special. They are still crispy and golden on the outside, but the addition of the juice makes the interior a beautiful soft shade of green that just beckons to be gobbled up. *Come to think of it...my Papa may have disapproved of the addition of anything green to his hush puppies seeing that he didn't care for any green foods, but I think he would forgive me and maybe even try one! I suggest serving these up with a hearty bowl of my Black & Tan Bean Soup, just the thing to warm you up in this last little blast of Winter.
Cilantro Hush Puppies
Makes 12-18
1 cup G-Free organic yellow corn meal
½ tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. minced white onion
⅛ cup buttermilk
1 large bunch of cilantro, washed
1 lime
1 jalapeno
1 egg or egg substitute
Sunflower or peanut oil
In a juicer combine the large bunch of cilantro, one whole lime, and the jalapeno pepper. Measure out an ⅛ of a cup of the juice for this recipe and reserve the rest of the juice for another use. *I suggest mixing the remaining juice into a batch of cashew cream..you will be happy you did! If you do not have a juicer combine the cilantro, jalapeno, and the juice & zest of one lime; process into a smooth pesto like paste in your food processor. Measure out ⅛ of a cup to use in this recipe and reserve the rest for another use, if your batter is too thick to work with add more buttermilk one teaspoon at a time until the batter is easily scooped and it keeps it shape.
Heat the oil to 370°F. Sift the dry ingredients together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Beat the buttermilk, ⅛ cup of cilantro lime juice, egg, and onion together. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and blend well. Use a small ice cream or cookie dough scoop to form the mixture into balls. Drop the batter into the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and season with salt to taste. Serve hot.
Love hush puppies like we do? I suggest trying my Hush Puppy Tacos, you will be so glad you did!
Carl says
These are so dry! They definitely need more liquid and maybe some fresh corn
Gina @ So Lets Hang Out says
When I visited TN years ago, I remember trying hush puppies for the first time. OMG. We slathered them with honey. It was a happy moment. There was also a lot of fried food consumption that went on. I remember coming home and wanting to eat simply a bag of lettuce. I did it to myself. Yours look so yummy! I love the addition of the herbs and the spicy jalapeno! Well played.
Meg says
Thanks! We do love fried foods here in the South, and it can be really easy to overdo. I like everything in moderation so these hush puppies are perfect for us as long as we have something healthy to pair them with. Todd and I developed a recipe for hush puppy tacos using these and I don't feel so guilty eating them because I am also eating kale and black beans.
Molly (Sprue Story) says
Oh my, those look amazing. I must admit, though, I'm one of those weirdos who thinks cilantro tastes like soap. Do you recommend subbing another herb to try this recipe or just leaving it out?
Meg says
Hi Molly, thank you and I totally understand your aversion to cilantro, I have a few herbs myself that I just can't get into. If you omit the cilantro juice you can sub in another type of juiced herb or you can simply double the amount of buttermilk to 1/4 cup and have them plain. I hope you enjoy them!
Beth @ Tasty Yummies says
Ok finally get caught up with life to where I can read other blogs and comment again! YAY! And this is what I get to see in my feed, these amazing hush puppies? GAH my hubby would die to eat these. I need to make these for him asap! Great recipe Meg!
Meg says
Thanks Beth! We will gladly have you guys over for a Southern feast when we get to Long Beach and these hush puppies will be on the menu! So glad that you are getting settled and enjoying your new home.:)
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies says
I've lived in the south for 2 years now and I still haven't tried hush puppies. This looks like the perfect recipe to start out with, though--I love cilantro!
Meg says
Whoa, 2 years! How have you been able to resist them for so long? 🙂 You have got to give hush puppies a whirl, they are best served with something that needs sopping up like soup or stew, but that is just my own personal opinion. I hope that you love them!
Michelle says
My husband LOVES hush puppies! I'll have to make these for him!
Meg says
I hope that he enjoys my little cilantro twist to the traditional hush puppy!
Cathy S. says
Well imagine my surprise to see Columbia, TN mentioned in your post! We live in rural Columbia, TN and have been here 5 years now. We love it! Thank you for the GF hushpuppy recipe! Yum!
Meg says
Wow Cathy,what a small world! I spent so many summer's there visiting with my Grandparents. I really loved it there.:) Thank you so much for saying hello!