Cooking is all about getting a fine balance right, and nowhere is that plainer than with fried food. The splendour of a perfect fritter lies in a crisp outer layer – nicely tanned, brittle and light, not too thin and definitely not too thick – surrounding a soft, pale and gorgeously billowy interior. You’re aiming for a temperature between 170C and 180C, so use a thermometer, if you have one. Or try one of many manual tests available, the most effective of which is to fry a small batch first, because that way you’ll get to know your fritter before you cook the rest.
Prawn and rice fritters (pictured top)
My colleague Ixta Belfrage broke all the rules here by combining two of her favourite childhood snacks: Brazilian savoury prawn pasties and sweet Italian rice fritters. The result is a spectacularly wonderful fusion.
Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr 20 min
Makes 16
3 tbsp olive oil
5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
340g sustainably sourced raw peeled king prawns, chopped into 1½-2cm pieces
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp cumin seeds, crushed
½ tsp coriander seeds, crushed
1 green chilli, finely chopped
2 lemons, zest finely grated, to get 1 tsp, then cut into 6 wedges, to serve
Flaked sea salt
100g arborio rice
100ml dry white wine
200ml shellfish or fish stock
120ml whole milk
1 egg, separated
60g plain flour
About 800ml vegetable oil, for frying
Hot sauce of your choice, to serve
Put the first seven ingredients, the lemon zest and a teaspoon and a half of salt in a medium saucepan on a medium heat, and fry gently for eight minutes, until the prawns are golden-brown. Add the rice, wine, stock and milk, turn down the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring regularly, for 25-30 minutes, until the rice is cooked but still has a little bite. Leave to cool for five minutes, stir in the egg yolk, then set aside to cool completely.
Sieve the flour into the cooled rice mixture, then mix to combine. Whip the egg white to stiff peaks, then gently fold into the rice mixture.
Put the oil in a large saucepan on a medium-high heat. Test that the oil is hot enough by dropping in a tiny bit of batter – it should sizzle – then fry the fritters in batches of four, to avoid lowering the temperature too much. Drop tablespoons of batter into the oil and cook for four to five minutes, turning two or three times, until golden-brown all over. (You may need to adjust the heat if they brown too quickly.)
Transfer the cooked fritters to a tray lined with kitchen paper and repeat with the remaining batter. Sprinkle the fritters with salt, and serve hot with the lemon wedges and hot sauce.
Kale and onion bhajis
Serve these crisp bhajis with a squeeze of lime, or with (regular or vegan) mayonnaise or yoghurt for dipping.
Prep 25 min
Cook 40 min
Makes 12
200g curly kale, tough stems discarded (150g net weight)
½ onion, finely sliced (ideally on a mandoline)
4 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
30g coriander leaves, roughly chopped
3cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tsp caraway seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
1½ tsp coriander seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
⅓ tsp chilli flakes
50g gram flour (chickpea flour)
2 limes, zest finely grated, to get 2 tsp, ½ lime juiced, to get 2 tsp juice, and the rest cut into wedges, to serve
Salt
About 500ml sunflower oil, for frying
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil, then cook the kale for five minutes, until soft. Drain and, once cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Roughly chop the kale, then put it in a large bowl and mix with the next nine ingredients, the lime zest and juice, and half a teaspoon of salt. Test the mixture’s consistency by squeezing it with your hands – it should hold together, so if it’s a bit on the wet side, add a touch more gram flour. Form into 12 balls weighing about 30g each.
Put a medium saucepan on a medium-high heat and add enough oil to come 4cm up the sides. Test the oil’s temperature by dropping in a small piece of bread – it should start to brown after about 20 seconds. Carefully lower five bhajis into the oil and fry for three to four minutes, turning once halfway, until browned and crisp. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a baking tray and repeat with the remaining mix. Once all the bhajis are fried, bake for five minutes, until just cooked through, sprinkle with salt and serve warm with the lime wedges.
Apple fritters with fennel and vanilla
These are best eaten as soon as they’re cooked. If you have some brandy or calvados to hand, mix a couple of teaspoons into the whipped cream, and an extra teaspoon of sugar, to add a welcome complexity. Makes about 24 fritters.
Prep 15 min
Proving 40-50 min
Cook 35 min
Serves 6-8
200g plain flour
1 sachet fast-action dried yeast (7g)
1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
½ tsp finely grated orange zest
½ tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways and seeds scraped out
150g caster sugar
150ml warm water
2-3 granny smith apples, skin on, cored and cut into 1½ cm dice (300g net weight)
1½ tsp fennel seeds, finely crushed
120ml double cream
Salt
About 600ml vegetable oil, for frying
Put the first six ingredients, half the vanilla seeds and 40g sugar in a large bowl. Slowly pour in the water, whisking until smooth and combined. The dough should be quite wet, loose and very sticky.
In a second bowl, mix the diced apples with 20g sugar and half a teaspoon of the fennel seeds, then fold into the dough using a spatula. Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place to rise for 40-50 minutes, until bubbling and doubled in size.
While the dough is proving, mix the remaining 90g sugar with the last teaspoon of fennel seeds and the rest of the vanilla seeds. In a small bowl, whip the cream by hand to soft peaks – about two minutes.
Line a tray with lots of kitchen towel. Stir a quarter-teaspoon of salt into the dough. Pour enough oil into a medium saucepan to come 4-5cm up the sides and put on a medium-high heat, until the oil reaches about 180C (if you don’t have a thermometer, test by dropping in a little batter: it should sizzle but not colour straight away). Cooking the fritters in four or five batches, drop a heaped tablespoon of dough per fritter into the hot oil and fry for about four minutes in total, turning two or three times, until crisp and golden-brown all over. Transfer to the lined tray to drain as you go. Once all the fritters have been fried, roll them lightly in the fennel seed sugar and serve warm with the cream alongside.
The Guardian aims to publish recipes for fish rated as sustainable by the Marine Conservation Society’s Good Fish Guide.
