Corn, Pea and Peppers Vegetarian Fritters Recipe
Fritters in their varied forms can have very diverse meanings for different people, especially in different countries around the globe. Fritters can be thick wedges of potato, deep fried in batter to serve as the main starch accompaniment to a meal. Fritters can be pieces of fruit, such as banana or pineapple, deep fried in sweet batter and served with perhaps maple syrup or ice cream as a dessert. In this instance, however, the fritters are small pieces of vegetable stirred in to a simple egg batter and deep fried to serve as a tasty and attractive starter or appetizer for two to four people. The choice of vegetables used is a personal one and can be varied according to taste, as can the accompanying dip.
Ingredients List
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Ingredients
- 2 tbsp frozen peas, cooked and cooled
- 1 red bell pepper, deseeded and finely diced
- 2 ears of sweetcorn, kernels only
- 1 tbsp freshly chopped coriander leaves/cilantro, plus extra to garnish
- 5oz plain/all purpose flour
- 5 fl oz milk
- 1 large, free range egg
- 6oz carton soured cream
- 1 medium garlic clove, peeled and grated
- Salt and black pepper
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
Begin by Preparing the Dip
Directions
- Pour the soured cream in to a small glass bowl.
- Grate the peeled garlic clove in to the soured cream with a small hand grater and stir well.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until required. This gives the garlic flavours a chance to infuse through the cream.
Preparing the Batter for the Fritters
Click thumbnail to view full-sizeDirections
- Cook the peas per the instructions on the packet (usually three minutes in boiling water), drain and add to a large bowl.
- Remove any leaves and fibruous hairs from the corn ears. A cleaver is ideal to carefully shear off the kernels.
- Half, deseed and dice the pepper. Mix the sweetcorn, pepper and coriander/cilantro in to the peas.
- Put the flour in to a stone mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre.
- Break the egg in to a small bowl. This means any stray shell can be removed before you add it to the well in the flour.
- Pour in a little milk and begin whisking the batter with a fork until all the milk is added and the batter is thick and smooth.
- Stir the batter in to the vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for half an hour to rest.
Frying the Fritters
Click thumbnail to view full-size- A deep frying pan should be used to make these fritters, not a deep fryer. The oil should be about an inch deep and brought up to a fairly high heat.
- Two dessert spoons are perfect for measuring out the fritter batter and adding it to the pan. Shape a portion on one spoon with the other and use the second spoon to slide it off the first in to the pan. Fry only about four or five fritters at a time.
- The fritters should be fried for about two minutes, then turned with a deep frying spider and fried for another two minutes on the second side. Remove to kitchen paper on a plate.
- The fritters can be kept warm on a heated plate in a low oven as they are fried and drained.
- Lay the soured cream in the centre of a sharing plate, or put it in to a ramekin and on to the centre of a large plate.
- Arrange the fritters around the soured cream.
- Garnish the dip with the last of the coriander leaf/cilantro and serve.