Sweetcorn fritters, potato wedges, spicy courgettes and tzadziki

There's an awful lot of sweetcorn around at the moment, so one of them was sued up in these fritters. They were pretty quick to make, and turned out quite delicious.

Potatoes
Olive oil
Sweetcorn
Red onion
Porridge oats
Eggs
Courgette
Spicy ragu mix
Tzadziki



1.  Cut potatoes into wedges, toss in olive oil and roast for about 45 minutes.
2.  Cut the kernals off the sweetcorn (stand on it's end and run a knife down the cob).  Finely chop a red onion.
3.  Add a handful of oats to the corn and onion and mix together, break in a couple of eggs and mix in.  It should form a batter - not a wet pancakey batter, but enough to hold the bits together in the pan.
4.  Toss sliced courgette in spicy ragu mix (not too much, it's quit hot).
5.  In 2 pans fry the fritters and sliced courgette - keep them warm in the oven if you need to do batches.
6.  Serve, with tzadziki, scoff

(To my shame it was shop bought tzadziki, to give it a try … it was OK but home made is better, and dead easy … mix crushed garlic, finely diced/grated cucumber, a little olive oil, a pinch of mint and squirt of lemon juice into greek yogurt … done!)

Spiced haddock, with sweetcorn and black beans

It's Friday, so a pick of Paul's excellent fish.  Today, I went for haddock and some bang in season sweetcorn.  To give it a bit more body I mixed the sweetcorn with black beans, onion and red pepper, and to give it some zing I coated the fish with a paprika herby garlicky paste.  We had it with leftover mash with the leeks stirred through it.

Haddock

Corn on the cob

Tin of black beans

Onion

Red pepper

Paprika

Crushed garlic

Italian seasoning

ground cumin

salt & pepper

olive oil

1.  Strip the corn off the cob, rinse the beans, finely chop the onion and red pepper.  Mix together and layer in the bottom of an oven dish.

2.  Mix the garlic, herbs and spices into a paste with the olive oil.  Spread onto the fish.

3.  Layer the fish over the bean mixture and cover with foil.  Pop into a medium oven.

4.  Do what ever you want for 30-40 minutes ... drink wine and chat, watch Corrie, do a crossword etc etc

5.  Open oven door, take foil off the dish - serve ... scoff ... optional spritz with fresh lime.

Just another Todmorden tapas

This time it was a sort of american-spanish take ...

Spicy mini potato roasties
Chorizo
Cauliflower with pine nuts and raisins
Pepper filled with stockfish
Coleslaw
Corn on the cob
Grilled chilli and garlic prawns

Not bad for a Wednesday night!

Start with the potatoes, and work steadily for about an hour, and it will all get done.

Ingredients.....

From The Mediterranean Pantry:  Olive oil, cajun spices, chorizo, pine nuts, raisins, garlic, chilli flakes, stuffed peppers
From Garry:  Potatoes, onions, cauliflower, sweetcorn, lemon, carrots, cabbage
From Paul:  Prawns

also ... sherry

1.  Chop potatoes into bite sized pieces, put into a roasting tray with a dusting of cajun seasoning.  Roast in a medium-hot oven (about 180).
2.  Finely slice 2 onions - one for the cauliflower, and one for the coleslaw - actually it's about 1 and a quarter for the cauliflower, and 3/4 for the coleslaw.
3.  Gently sautee the onion for the cauliflower in olive oil, then add cauliflower florets, and a drop of water, put the lid on and "steam" the cauliflower until done.
4.  Finish making the coleslaw by adding julienned carrots and shredded cabbage.  Season, add the juice of half a lemon and a splash of olive oil.
5.  Prep the sweetcorn, and put into a pan of water, ready to boil at 20 minutes to serving.
6.  Take the peppers with fish out of tin, into an oven dish and put into the oven with the potatoes to heat through.
7.  Marinate the prawns in chilli falkes, crushed garlic, lemon juice and a splash of olive oil.
8.  Chop chorizo into bite sized pieces.
9.  Check on the potatoes, I think you should be about 5 minutes from all done.
10.  Splash some sherry into the cauliflower and add a small handful of pinenuts and raisins, cook the alcohol off.
11. Fry the chorizo and the prawns in 2 separate pans - turn the prawns after a couple of minutes, keep the chorizo moving until it's done.
12.  Serve, scoff - some people will mix in mayonnaise to make their coleslaw creamy.

Carrot and sweetcorn fritters, cajun wedges and salad

A glut of carrots required some inventive thinking - and we haven't had fritters for a bit.  I added cumin as it goes really well with carrot, and a mix of cornmeal and buckwheat flour to give the batter some body.   The steamed cabbage doesn't necessarily go, but it is finish up the veg box time  The added salad goes very well.

Olive oil
Potatoes
Cajun seasoning

Carrots
Sweetcorn
Red onion
Cumin
Chives

Cornmeal
Buckwheat flour
Eggs
Soya milk
Natural yogurt

1.  Cut the potatoes into wedges, dust with cajun seasoning and roast in olive oil.
2.  Make the batter by whisking eggs, soya milk (or regular milk) and a big spoonful of yogurt into the flours.  Keep beating until smooth - it should be a bit thicker than double cream in consistency.
3.  Grate carrots, drain sweetcorn and finely chop red onion, mix together.  Mix in a good pinch of cumin seeds, salt and pepper.
4.  Mix together the batter and the veg.
5  Fry blobs of mixture for 2-3 minutes each side, in olive oil.  Fry them in batches to not overcrowd the pan, and keep them warm while you finish them.

Roasted squash with barley groat and vegetables.

Roast squash in olive oil with garlic and red onion.

 

Sautee onion and garlic, peeled and chopped carrots, green beans and sweetcorn (this was kernals taken off the cob), in a little olive oil.  Add water and simmer gently until veg is nearly done - add shredded kale a little vegetable stock and simmer again until done.  Meanwhile boil groats for 15 minutes, drain and mix with the veg.  Season - quite a lot - add some chopped herbs.

 

It's an earthy dinner, very filling and good for you.

Veg box fritters with new potatoes - from the allotment.

The photo makes it all look a bit dark - I blame my photographic skills, not my cooking.  These fritters are NOT burnt, they were browned to perfection.

The new potatoes are our first crop from the allotment - very proud!  And, very delicious.

The fritters:

Corn on the cob
Carrot
Courgette
Red onion
Cumin seeds
Fennel seeds
Turmeric
Chili flakes
Salt
Gram flour
Bicarbonate of soda
Rape seed oil

1.  Scrape kernels from sweetcorn (or use tinned/frozen).
2.  Grate peeled carrots, onion and courgette.
3.  Mix all veg together and add salt, let sit for at least 10 minutes to draw out some of the moisture (not to drain off, to activate the bicarb).
4.  Add in spices, mix well.
5.  Add gram flour, bicarb, and mix well.
6.  Fry, gently, in rape seed oil.
7.  Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm.

Yogurt sauce

Natural yogurt
Crushed garlic
Lemon juice
Olive oil

1.  Mix ingredient together, and season to taste.

Tomato and basil salad ... yup. tomato, basil and salt.

I would have added a green salad, but no leaves left from the veg box.  However, this was all delish and the yogurt sauce went spectacularly with the fritters.

peas, sweetcorn and chicory - with fish and chips and gherkin fritters

Fish and chips are a solid tradition in this household, but sometimes it's worth adding a twist, particularly when something less usual turns up in the veg box.  This week, I thought I'd try batter instead of recent cornmeal crispy coatings, and had a bit of a bonkers idea about chopped gherkins in the batter (you know, in the batter instead of in the tartare suace, well why not ??) ... and had some red chicory in the veg box.

The gherkin didn't stick very well to the fish in the batter - BUT little blobs of it fried in the batter (like a bhaji) were DELICIOUS!

So, start with the potatoes, chop and par boil - heating the oil in a tray in the oven, so that it's hot to transfer the drained potatoes an hour before you want to serve.  Then prep the veg and batter for the fish then need to be sorted 20 minutes before you want to serve.  Start the veg, then when it's simmering start frying the fish .. then it'll all be done about the same time.

"Chips"

Boil, drain, roast in hot oil...

Fish in batter

Enough fish (I cut pollock fillets into 3-4 pieces, about 4 cm square)
cornflour
polenta
cream of tartar
cold water
Chopped gherkin
salt and pepper

olive oil

1.  Mix cornflour, polenta and cream of tartar with cold water to form a batter - the consistency of double cream.
2.  Stir in finely chopped gherkins and seasoning.
3.  When ready, coat fish in batter, and fry in batches, in hot olive oil.  Fry for a minute or so on each side, and drain on kitchen roll.  Keep warm.
4.  Collect the remaining chopped gherkin and batter into spoonfuls, and fry as little fritters.

Vegetables

olive oil
1 onion, chopped
frozen sweetcorn
frozen petit pois
garlic
chopped chicory
white wine
squirt of lemon juice

1.  Sautee onion in olive oil.
2.  When soft add frozen veg and garlic, turn in oil - add in wine and simmer
3.  Throw shredded chicory on the top and allow to wilt, add a little water if its looking dry.
4.  After about 4-5 minutes it should be heated through - squirt with lemon juice and grind on black pepper.


Rally good.  Chicory works really well with peas and sweetcorn instead of lettuce in the french version.  The gherkin fritters were spectacular.

Haddock chowder

Haddock chowder, and a low fat version too.  Poached haddock briefly in a mix of soya milk and water.  Chopped and sauteed in olive oil onion and red pepper with crushed garlic - added 4 chopped potatoes and some stock, and the drained poaching liquor.  Simmered until potato was softish, added tin of sweetcorn to warm through.  Pulled out about half of the bits and zizzed the remainder.  Season.  Chuck bits back in along with the flaked fish.  Served with toast and good grinding of black pepper.  Victim ate it, but moaned as would have preferred version with double cream and butter... well, matey pants that's the way it goes for a while!  

Easy peasy noodle soup

I am not claiming that this is cooking - open packet of chicken noodle soup, boil in water as directed on packet.  Add packet of instant noodles and flavouring sachet, add handful of peas and handful of frozen sweetcorn.  Simmer, scoff.  (add sprinkle of chili flakes if feeling daring!)

Smoked haddock chowder

Back to souper December on Boxing Day with smoked haddock chowder.  Fry chopped onion, celery and red pepper in olive oil.  Poach smoked haddock in milk. Add chopped potato to vegetables.  Add vegetable stock and simmer.  Add sweetcorn, and milk from haddock.  Take some of the bits out of the soup and reserve.  Zizz the remainder.  Add the bits back into the soup and add a flaked fish and a dollop of cream.  Victims had seconds, then some additional victims dropped by and enjoyed it too.

Chicken and sweetcorn soup

Under pressure from 3 generations of victims from one side of the family... they went home .. then we got the outlaws back for usual Sunday treatment.. so, to keep to Souper December this had to be easy.  Stuck a chicken breast in the oven along with the bake (potato, minced pork, onion, celariac, apple with mustard and cider)... to poach in water for 15(ish) mins.  Meanwhile.. usual onions and garlic - soften in olive oil... then add, splosh of white wine, tin of sweetcorn, most of a chopped red chili, spoonful of left over chopped tomatoes (optional ;) ).  Simmer, for, well .. a bit (stick in oven with 1 extra pint of water, come back 3 hours later will still be fine).  Zizz sweetcorn mix to medium (ie. some still whole kernals, but mostly damaged/ obliterated), shred in chicken breast - sprinkle on any reserved chili rings.  Scoff... serve seconds... observe that there will be none spare for "kitchen fairies" work lunches... result!  Bask in glory of feeding all generations of visitors without complaint... stack dishwasher (again).

Meatloaf ... veg out of hell

Meatloaf - zizz onion and garlic, reload zizzer with bread for breadcrumbs, once zizzed empty into bowl with onions and garlic mush and continue with a courgette or two, and half a red chilli... this is the first secret veg.  Mix zizzed ingredients with minced beef and 2 eggs.  Add herbs, and a good amount of seasoning - squish and mix with hands and put into lined loaf tin.  Bake in bain marie in hot oven for 45 mins +.  Meanwhile I made a slightly spicy tomato sauce (onions, garlic, celery, carrot (secret veg 2 and 3) and chopped tomatoes - splash of lea and perrins, salt and black pepper) simmer on low for however long it takes, adding water if it gets dry.  Also boiled some potato chunks, then put in oven drizzled with olive oil for 15 mins, steamed sweetcorn and runner beans.  Victim left visible green stuff - but that meant 5 types of 6 eaten!  chortle.  Next time will spice meat mixture more, as it was a tad ordinary - maybe just add some spicy BBQ or cajun sauce to the mix.

Chicken news:  Sophie and Rosemary still broody despite frequent de-nesting (chickens swear you know)- only one egg (Clarissa?) and Clarissa trying to become an inside chicken - roaming into the kitchen at the slightest opportunity.