Fabulous fritters

I keep a container of the dry mix for this recipe in my cupboard for spontaneous fritter making – everyone should. Most of these ingredients should be in your cupboard, and if not your nearest corner shop will have them all. 

These delicious fritters were one of our most popular dishes at the restaurant. They happen to be vegan and gluten free but that was incidental, as they pack a palate-pleasing punch, are satisfyingly crunchy and, when topped with a simple tahini dressing and some toasted seeds, would not be out of place at the breakfast, lunch or dinner table. 

The most time-consuming element is making up the seasoned chickpea flour, which can be done well in advance. The rest is a work of minutes.  

Also, if courgettes aren’t your thing, you can substitute sweetcorn,  grated parsnip, cauliflower or potato. 

Serves 4

500g chickpea (gram) flour 

2tsp salt

1tsp freshly ground black pepper

1tbsp ground coriander

2tsp ground cumin

1tsp coriander seeds

1tsp cumin seeds

1tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp cayenne pepper

pinch of chilli flakes

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda 

2 large courgettes

Oil for frying

To serve

1tbsp each of sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds, 

2 butter lettuce (or baby gem, or a bag of washed salad leaves)

4 pita bread or flatbread

Vinaigrette

25ml red wine vinegar

750ml olive oil

1tsp Dijon mustard

1tsp honey or agave syrup (if you are strictly vegan)

1tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Tahini dressing

2 cloves garlic

1tsp salt

200ml tahini

Juice of 1 lemon

Hot water

You will need

Mixing bowls

1 frying pan

2 oven trays

1 Chopping Board

1 Grater

Teaspoon measures

Lemon juicer

Paper towel 

Method

1.    Make the tahini dressing. Grind the garlic clove and salt together on a chopping board using the blade of a knife, to create a paste. Scrape that into a bowl, add half the lemon juice and tahini, and whisk.  Use a few tablespoons of hot water to thin down the dressing to a pourable consistency. Taste and check the seasoning – add more salt and lemon juice if necessary. Set aside. 

2.     Make the vinaigrette. In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until well combined,  and check the seasoning. It may need a touch more honey or salt. 

3.    Make the fritters.  Preheat the oven to 160C. 

In a dry frying pan, toast the whole and ground spices until they start to smoke. Remove from the pan and grind the spices in a blender (or pound in a pestle and mortar). Add the spice mix to to the gram flour, add the bicarbonate of soda and mix well to combine.  This spice mix can be kept – labelled – in a sealed container for up to a month. 

Use the same frying pan to toast the seeds over a low heat, being careful not to scorch them. Set the seed mix aside to cool. 

Preheat a frying pan with a shallow covering of vegetable oil. While the oil is heating, coarsely grate the courgettes (I don’t advising doing this ahead of time, as they leach water. If you do grate ahead,  then give the courgette a squeeze before adding it to the batter.)

In a large mixing bowl, place 1 big serving spoon of the flour mix per person, and use a drizzle of water to mix to a thick paste. Add the grated courgette and mix well to combine. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the hot oil, allow to colour, and flip them over. Once evenly browned, drain on kitchen paper, pop them on an oven tray and finish in the oven for 8-10 minutes to ensure they are cooked through. I usually serve 4 or 5 fritters as a main course. 

While you are frying the fritters in batches, put the flatbreads or pita in the oven to warm through.

To serve,  place a flatbread or pita on each plate, dress the salad leaves with the vinaigrette and place a handful of leaves on  top of the bread. Arrange the fritters on top, use a spoon to drizzle over the tahini dressing, and top with the toasted seeds.