Method

You probably remember fritters as those pumpkin ones your grandmother used to make as a side dish with anything meaty for Sunday lunch. And I’m not saying those weren’t delicious, but they’re more like pancakes. These fritters are savoury and you get to taste all the individual ingredients, which means you can eat them on their own (and preferably while they’re still hot) without having to go to the trouble of roasting a lamb and fighting to get your family around one table on a Sunday. Traditionally, fritters were served on Shrove Tuesday, but there’s no need for a religious experience to be a fritter freak.

Take a mixing bowl, add the corn flour and baking powder, then make a well in the centre and pour in the egg whites. Using a wooden spoon, mix it up until it’s lump-free. It’s that easy. The idea is not to drown the ingredients in the batter, but rather to lubricate them, just so everything sticks together during frying. Mix the rest of the ingredients with the batter, then preheat a pan, add a splash of sunflower oil and then add spoonfuls of fritter mix. Fry until golden on both sides. Serve with flavoured sour cream.

PS: Cold fritter mix is easier to work with. Leave it in the fridge until all the ingredients have cooled down. It helps it settle when you fry your fritters.

PPS: If you’ve got a bowl of batter waiting to be used, make sure you stir it every now and then otherwise it will stick to the bottom of the bowl.

PPPS: Don’t make the fritters any thicker than about 1 cm, otherwise they might not cook right through to the centre.

PPPPS: I like to use fritters as veggie burgers – really! Give it a bash.

By Justin Bonello, from Justin Bonello Cooks …for friends, published by Penguin.