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Corn fritters are a menu staple in nearly every café in Australia and New Zealand. No two recipes are ever the same, as everyone has their (strong!) opinion on what makes the perfect fritter.
Corn Fritters with Roast Tomatoes & Smashed Avocados
Serves 6
Ingredients
150g (about 1 medium) grated courgette
400g cherry vine tomatoes
olive oil, to drizzle
4 eggs
180g self-raising flour
50g Parmesan cheese, grated
100ml buttermilk
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp freshly chopped coriander
fresh corn kernels cut from 2-3 cobs
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
sunflower oil, for frying
For the smashed avocados
3 avocados
grated zest of 1 lime and freshly squeezed juice of 2
¼ red onion, finely diced
1 tsp hot sauce
To serve
fresh spinach leaves
crème fraîche
Method
Put the grated courgette into a colander set over a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with ½ tsp of salt and leave for 30 minutes to 1 hour so they release their moisture. Squeeze the grated courgette with your hands to get rid of as much moisture as possible and set aside.
For the roast tomatoes, preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Roast in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the skins begin to split.
Reduce the oven temperature to 170°C/gas mark 3 and prepare the fritter batter. In a large, clean, mixing bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. Add in the flour, grated Parmesan, buttermilk, paprika, cayenne pepper, ½ tsp of salt, a pinch of pepper and the chopped coriander.
Stir in the squeezed courgette and the corn kernels, ensuring the vegetables are evenly coated in batter.
Add enough sunflower oil to thinly cover the bottom of a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Ladle generous spoonfuls of batter into the pan and cook for about 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Transfer to a clean baking sheet and put in the oven for 4-5 minutes to ensure they are cooked through. Cook the remaining batter in the same way, adding a little more oil to the pan each time, if required.
Just before serving, roughly mash the avocados with a fork, leaving them fairly chunky. Stir in the lime zest and juice, onion and hot sauce. Season generously with salt and serve with the fritters, roast tomatoes, a handful of baby spinach and a dollop of crème fraîche.
Extracted from Lantana Breakfast & Brunch by Shelagh Ryan (Ryland Peters & Small, approx €11). Photographs by Kate Whitaker & Adrian Lawrence.