Cauliflower Fritters

Based on a couple of different recipes that I found and combined. Serve these with your favourite dipping sauce.

Ingredients

• 300 g cauliflower – about 1/2, chopped into small florets
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• zest of 1 lemon
• Small bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped
• Small bunch chives, finely chopped
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• ½ cup grated sharp cheese (e.g Noble or Vintage cheddar)
• 1 egg

Method

1. Steam the cauliflower florets for eight minutes and then drain.
2. Mash the cauliflower with a potato masher until finely mashed, it doesn’t need to be smooth. Leave to cool.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together to combine.
4. Scoop out a heaped tablespoon of the mixture. Roll into a ball in your hands, using additional flour if you need to. Lightly squash the fritters flat and place on a floured plate.
5. Leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up.
6. Heat the oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat.
7. Fry the fritters for three to four minutes, turn over and fry for another three to four minutes until golden brown on both sides.
8. Place on a paper towel to soak the additional oil used.

Makes

Eight to ten fritters.

Pesto

Made today with fresh parsley out of my garden, and for a change, I actually had all the ingredients on hand.

Ingredients

• 1 to 1/2 cups Italian parsley
• 1/2 cup almonds, whole or walnuts
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 T lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Method

1. In a food processor, process the nuts until they have turned into chunky crumbs.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth. You may like to add more olive oil if you prefer it smoother  rather than chunkier.

Makes

1 1/2 cups

Corn and Bacon Fritters

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c milk
• 1 c flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 t paprika
• 1 410g tin of corn in brine, drained
• 4 rashers of bacon, chopped
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1/4 c fresh coriander, finely chopped

Method

1. Fry bacon and onion until cooked.
2. Beat eggs and milk together. Add rest of dry ingredients and stir until combined.
3. Stir corn, bacon, shallot, and coriander into the battter mix
4. Drop spoonfuls onto a greased skillet. Fry until bubbles form or until golden and then flip.

Serve with avocado, sour cream, and sweet chilli sauce.

Makes

24

Spicy Nuts

It’s nearly impossible to stop munching on these once you start.

Ingredients

• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 c white sugar
• 2 t salt
• 1 t chilli powder
• 1/2 t ground allspice
• 1 t ground cumin
• 2 1/2 t paprika
• 6 cups assorted raw or roasted nuts such as cashews, pecans, walnuts, peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts, brazil nuts
• extra rock salt
• extra cinnamon

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 °C .
2. Combine the sugar, salt, chilli, allspice, cumin, and paprika.
3. Beat egg white until soft and foamy. When the egg whites have been properly beaten, there should be no clear liquid remaining at the bottom of the bowl.
4. Stir the sugar and spice mixture into the egg whites.
5. Pour over the nuts and still until well coated.
6. Spread nuts into a single layer on an ungreased baking pan. Sprinkle one half of the nuts with a light sprinkling of cinnamon, and the other half with a light sprinkling of freshly ground rock salt.
7. Bake nuts for 15 minutes and then toss and stir and separate the nuts. The nuts will go soft as they cook, but will crisp up as they cool.
8. Reduce over to 250 °C  and return nuts to bake until medium brown; about 10 minutes.
9. Remove nuts from the oven, stir and place on a wire rack to cool.
10. Break up any nuts that stick together.