Tag: fritters

Spicy Spinach and Pumpkin Fritters

30 November 2023

With Halloween and Thanksgiving, the two times in the year when pumpkins take centre stage, now behind us, we’ve got a simple idea to use up any leftover pumpkin you may have with this quick and easy spinach and pumpkin fritter recipe.

Spicy Spinach and Pumpkin Fritters

These fritters are totally vegan – there’s no need to add an egg to bind them together as chickpea flour and rolled oats do a great job of soaking up any extra moisture from the spinach and pumpkin and help the fritters hold their shape. They can be shallow fried on both sides in a little oil or baked in the oven for 30 minutes at 180 c. These spicy fritters taste good served with a side salad and chips or in a burger bun or pita with your choice of toppings.

Grate the pumpkin
Add the chopped spinach
Add the herbs and spices then mix
Add the rolled oats and chickpea flour
Mix it all together, then put it in the fridge for two hours
Form into balls, fry on both sides, then eat!

Ingredients (Makes 6-8 fritters)

  • 175 g grated pumpkin
  • 50 g chopped spinach
  • 50 g chickpea flour
  • 25 g rolled oats
  • One teaspoon each of cumin seeds, coriander seeds, oregano, sumac and turmeric.
  • Half a teaspoon cinnamon
  • 25 ml oil for frying

Method

  • Grate the pumpkin into a large bowl, add the chopped spinach and herbs and spices and combine all the ingredients. Now add the rolled oats and chickpea flour and mix well. Leave the mixture to rest for two hours in the fridge, so that any excess moisture is absorbed.
  • Form the mixture into small balls (about the size of a golf ball) in your hands. Heat the oil in a frying pan then turn the heat down low and add as many of the balls as will fit in the pan. Flatten them with a fish slice and after a few minutes turn them over. Cook until golden brown on both sides and then serve straight away.

Much Ado about Courgettes

28 April 2016

Last time round, Knidos Cookery Club looked at stuffed courgettes and tomatoes and this week we’re going to find a use for some of the leftovers scooped out from the courgettes (zucchini to our North American friends!)

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Courgette fritters, Mücver in Turkish, offer a quick and easy solution as to what to do with the courgette middles. Mücver are a great comfort food that can be knocked up in no time and can be served as breakfast, as a burger for lunch, as part of a more substantial main meal or as an easy supper.

These versatile fritters take a few minutes to prepare and can be seasoned with whatever is to hand. They can be fried in next to no time or, for a healthier alternative, can be baked in the oven or even grilled on the barbecue for a smokier flavour.

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Afiyet olsun! (as they say in Turkish)

For a vegan version, omit the egg and yogurt topping. For more of a protein kick add some salty cheese such as feta or halloumi (hellim in Turkish) to the mix. For a more substantial veggie burger add one grated carrot and 100g of your preferred chopped nuts to the mix before frying.

Ingredients (for around 8 fried courgette fritters)

Two medium-sized courgettes

One small onion

One egg

50 g white cheese (feta, halloumi or similar)

Four-five dessert spoons of plain flour

Bunch of parsley, mint and/or dill (if you like that sort of thing)

Dried herbs to taste

A generous sprinkle of sesame seeds

An  optional dusting of chili flakes and grated cinnamon

Salt and pepper

A dash of olive oil for frying

Plain yogurt for serving

Method

Grate or chop up the courgettes finely and mix with the chopped onion. Add fresh parsley, mint and/or dill, dried herbs, chili flakes, cinnamon, sesame seeds salt and pepper and blend well.

Make a well in the centre of the mix and break the egg into it. Sprinkle in the crumbled white cheese. Mix well. (Vegan readers should skip the egg and cheese and jump straight to the adding flour phase!)

Gradually add  the dessert spoons of plain flour and blend  until the mixture has quite a thick consistency – you don’t want it to be too wet and sloppy.

Drizzle some olive oil in a frying pan and put over a medium heat.

Place golf ball-sized scoops of the courgette mixture into the pan and flatten with a spatula or fork.

After a few minutes turn the fritter. Keep cooking until both sided are a golden-brown colour.

Serve hot with a dollop of yogurt on top.