Leek fritters

Yotam Ottolenghi’s “Plenty” contains a wealth of vegetarian recipes and is a fantastic resource not only for vegetarians but for those wanting to include more veggies in their diets. Stuffed inside my copy of the book is a piece of paper on which I’ve scrawled the names of the recipes I want to try out first… needless to say the list is rather long! These delicious leek fritters are from the “Funny Onions” chapter.

This may not be the most glamorous looking plate of food I’ve ever made, but boy does it pack a flavour punch! The sauce compliments the fritters beautifully. I found the meal to be richer than expected, with two fritters being the perfect serving size next to a small handful of fresh leafy greens. These fritters are ideal for a tasty lunch or as a simple supper.

Cook’s notes:

The original recipe recommends dividing the batter into 8 large fritters. I found this size a little tricky to wield in the pan so I went with slightly smaller fritters and made 10 instead.

LEEK FRITTERS

Servings: 4
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For the sauce:

100g Greek yoghurt
100g sour cream
2 garlic cloves, crushed
30ml (2 tbsp) lemon juice
45ml (3 tbsp) olive oil
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
20g parsley, chopped
30g coriander, chopped

For the fritters:

450g leeks (trimmed weight)
150ml olive oil
5 shallots, finely chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced
25g parsley, finely chopped
3.75ml (¾ tsp) ground coriander
5ml (1 tsp) ground cumin
1.25ml (¼ tsp) turmeric
1.25ml (¼ tsp) cinnamon
5ml (1 tsp) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
1 large egg white
120g self raising flour
15ml (1 tbsp) baking powder
1 large egg
150ml milk
55g butter, melted

1.) Place all of the sauce ingredients in a food processor. Blitz until combined and then set aside in the fridge while you make the fritters.

2.) Slice the leeks into 2cm pieces, rinse well and dry. Add half of the olive oil to a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the leeks and shallots to the pan and sauté gently for 15 minutes, or until soft. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the chilli, parsley, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, sugar and salt. Mix, then set aside to cool.

3.) Whisk the egg white to soft peak stage, then fold into the vegetables. Place the flour, baking powder, egg, milk and butter in a separate bowl and whisk until you have a batter. Gently mix the batter into the vegetables.

4.) Pop 2 tablespoons of the remaining olive oil into a frying pan over a medium heat. Use a 100ml scoop (or thereabouts) to add a scoop of batter to the pan. Depending on the size of the pan you can cook 2-3 fritters at a time. Cook the fritters until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the fritters to a piece of kitchen towel to drain, then keep warm while you cook the remaining fritters. Add more olive oil to the pan as you need it.

5.) Serve the fritters immediately with the sauce.