Whether you’ve got an allotment, a patch in the garden or you’re the recipient of surplus from a friend or neighbour, chances are you’re enjoying the bounty of harvest time. At the end of summer vegetables and fruits are ripening and ready for the pickings. I paid a visit to the Cookham Dean Fete on Saturday and I couldn’t wait to see the produce prizes. At the entry to the village hall there were a handful of giant pumpkins greeting you at the door and inside the hall there were tables laid with the best that Cookham green-thumbs had to offer. There was a lovely selection of onions, carrots, beans and flowers and a display of giant courgettes and marrows that would have blown my mind if I hadn’t already been given a couple of giant ones from my friend Sarah. Non only did she come through with the elderflowers for my cordial, but Sarah also has an impressive patch of vegetables in the bottom of her garden and I was excited when she gave me two giant courgettes. Like our family, her kids don’t do courgettes – and so these underrated veg often go uneaten. But they can be used in Ratatouille or sliced and roasted along with aubergine to make a paleo lasagne. Sarah’s idea to stuff these giant specimens did seem sensible but I have never made anything like that before. So today’s post is a really simple, scrappy recipe for anyone who loves courgette – but doesn’t really know what to do with them. The ingredients and the measurements are pretty free and easy, so it’s just a guide really. I do advise that you eat these fritters as soon as you’ve made them, otherwise you’ll have to drain the liquid that comes out of the grated courgette if it’s left to sit for any length of time. But if you can – grate, make and eat because it’s the lovely farm-to-fork freshness that makes these fritters so delightful. They can be eaten as is, or dipped in ketchup, chutney or a raita or my favourite dip is mixing some chutney with Greek yogurt.
Curried Courgette Fritters
Ingredients:
1 courgette, grated
3 spring onions, sliced
1 egg
2 x tbs gram flour (plain is ok, but Chickpea flour seems to work better)
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp of dried fill or if you’re using fresh dill, you can use a little more
Season with salt and pepper
Method:
Mix everything in a bowl until JUST combined. If you mix too much the fritters will go a bit rubbery.
Put spoonfuls into a hot pan with some oil and fry till golden and cooked.
