Love, love, love a good fritter! They are perfect for using up leftover roast meats and veggies etc and can be jazzed up with pretty much anything…..herbs, spices, cheese. These ones were jazzed up with dill, parsley and gorgeous haloumi. Topped with a simple salad of grilled zucchini, water cress and crunchy toasted pumpkin seeds and sitting on a delicious dollop of Harissa spiced yoghurt, this meal was a vegetarian lovers dream!
Prep time: 30 Minutes Cooking time: 30 Minutes $$ Medium Budget
Serves 4
Oil for frying (I used rice bran)
225gm of Haloumi, finely chopped
2 cups of frozen baby peas
2 spring onions, finely sliced
3 tbs of finely chopped dill
2 tbs of finely chopped Italian parsley
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1/2 tsp of sumac*
2 eggs, whisked
1 cup of self raising flour
1 cup of milk
Sea salt and cracked pepper
1 bunch of watercress (rocket will do if you can’t get it)
2 zucchini, sliced with your peeler into ribbons
1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted in a dry pan
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
8 baby truss tomatoes
1 cup of greek yoghurt
1 tbs of Harissa paste
Preheat the oven to 180°
Place the truss tomatoes on a lined baking tray, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
To make the fritters, place the peas, haloumi, spring onions, 2 tbs of the chopped dill (reserve 1 for the salad), parsley, sumac and garlic in a large mixing bowl. Place the flour, eggs and milk in a smaller bowl and whisk until well combined and you have a relatively smooth batter. Pour into the pea and haloumi mixture, season generously and stir well to combine. Place the batter in the fridge for 10 minutes while you prepare the salad.
Heat a non-stick griddle or fry pan to nice and hot and cook the zucchini ribbons for approximately 1 minute. If the pan is nice and hot this is all they will need. Set aside on a plate to cool slightly before tossing gently with the watercress and remaining dill. Drizzle with lemon and extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper just before serving.
Heat a large heavy based fry pan and add enough oil to cover the entire base of the pan. To check wether the oil is ready, place a drop of the batter in and if it starts to sizzle immediately, it is ready. Place generous spoonfuls of the mixture into the pan (approximately 4 in the pan), cooking for about 2-3 minutes either side or until golden and crispy. Remove from the pan and place on a lined baking tray with a wire rack (saves on washing up if it is lined). Repeat with the remaining mixture. Once all the mixture is gone and the fritters are cooked, place them in the oven for 10 minutes.
Combine the yoghurt and harissa but don’t over mix, that way you get a nice marbling effect. Place a generous dollop of the yoghurt on 4 serving plates and use the back of your spoon to spread it out. Lay a couple of the fritters on top of the yoghurt and then top with a little pile of the zucchini salad. Sprinkle over the toasted pumpkin seeds, place the truss tomatoes on the plate and serve.
*Sumac is a Middle Eastern spice that has a lovely zesty flavour. It is available in the spice section of the supermarket.
Leftover Dill? How about this one……?