Quick Zucchini Carrot Fritters

I am a fool. I didn’t take any pictures of these amazingly tasty fritters as I thought I was just whipping up a quick dinner but I decided I had to share! A tasty veggie hit that is super easy and delicious.

Actually, I find it hard to call these a “fritter” as I’m used to really battery kind of fritters. I ALMOST put milk or an extra egg in these but was so glad I didn’t, they seem like they won’t hold together but they will! But there isn’t really a better word for them so forever they shall  be deemed fritter.

What you need:

1 large carrot, grated
2 medium zucchinis, grated
1/2 cup parmesan, grated
1 egg
1/3 cup plain flour
2 tbsp cornmeal (aka polenta)
1 tbsp butter, room temperature or slightly melted
pinch of salt
vegetable oil for frying

To serve: Poach an egg and place over three or four (or eight) fritters, break and enjoy the gooey eggy crunchy goodness. You could also serve with any of your favourite sauces (I can’t confirm but once the egg ran out they may or may not have been tomato sauce involved).

What to do:

1. In a bowl, grate carrot, zucchini and parmesan.
2. Add butter and egg, stir until vegetables are coated in butter/egg.
3. Mix in flour, cornmeal and salt, stir well. This won’t come together like a smooth or even liquidy mixture, don’t panic!
4. In a large frypan,  heat around 1 inch of vegetable oil. Drop in a little piece of mixture, if bubbles form around it immediately, your oil is hot enough.
5. Using a tablespoon or similar size instrument, spoon dollops of mixture into the hot oil. Cook for around 2 minutes/size.
6. Cook in batches and drain on paper towel as you go.
7. Serve and enjoy!

I’m so sorry there are no photos but here are pictures of someone elses fritters and a poached egg so you can imagine the taste sensation.

Gooey poached goodness

 

Not HYTT fritters but close looking!

Cornbread topped Chilli

Spice vs Spicy. Where would I be without herbs and spices (answer: a bland sad world) but when they kick over to spicy it makes a world of difference.

Here is my conundrum … I love spices but spicy food doesn’t always love me. By which I mean I love the idea of spicy food but as soon as it hits my tongue it burns all over and I’m about to cry.

Surely I’m not the only one?

In an effort to broaden my palette I am starting to spice up my food more and push myself to eat spicy spices.

The idea to bake and top with cornbread was inspired by something I saw on a random cooking show but the chilli is my own invention. It has a nice heat that pleased all eaters and pleasantly surprised me with its full flavour. I love the crispy topped yet soft cornbread baked right on top.

Cornbread topped Chilli served with fresh guacamole, sour cream and rice

Serves 6

What you need:

Chilli

2 brown onions – diced
4 crushed garlic cloves
1 red capsicum – de seeded and cut into small pieces
2 big red chillies – de seeded and cut into small pieces
500g beef mince
2 chorizo sausages – roughly cut into 1 cm discs
1 tin of four bean mix – rinsed
1 tin diced tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
Spice mix – mix this in a bowl separately

• 2 tbsp hot crushed chillies (from a jar) or 1 small diced fresh chilli
• 1 tbsp cocoa
• 1 tsp all spice
• 2 tsp paprika
• 4 tsp mexican chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• pinch of salt

Cornbread

1 cup polenta
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp paprika

Guacamole

1 ripe Avocado
1 tbsp Lime
Small tin of Corn
2 tbsp greek yoghurt

Sour cream and/or rice to serve if desired

What to do:

1. Preheat your oven to 180C (160 fan forced).
2. In a large saucepan, lightly sauté onions and garlic. Add a small amount of oil is desired, not much is required as the chorizo will release oil later on.
3. Add mince to brown lightly.
4. Tumble in chopped capsicum, chillies, chorizo and tin of beans.
   

   A pleasant jumble!

5. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and stir thoroughly. Cover loosely and leave on a medium heat for 10 minutes.
   

   Red but not ready ... yet

6. Into this add this mix of spices and stir well. Taste test here and feel free to add more heat if you like (go you!).
7. Cover again and cook for 20 minutes on a low heat.
8. While you wait, mix all of the ingredients for the cornbreadinto a medium bowl. No particular order, just add them all in and whisk well.
   

   Cornbread ... it's incredibly hard to cock up

9. Pour chilli into a large baking dish. Spoon cornbread mixture over the top, no need to be precious here.
   

   Not looking too special at this point, but just you wait!

10. Top with a little cheese if desired and bake for 30 minutes.
11. While baking, use a fork to mash avocado in a bowl. Add lime, corn and greek yoghurt and stir lightly.
12. Cook rice now too if you like.
13. Serve your crispy chilli tasty feast and enjoy.
    

    Crispy topped cornbread over delicious chilli

Paprika batter for fish (or anything else you feel like frying)

I always “should” myself about seafood. I should eat more of it and I should cook with it more. I tend to struggle with recipes and cooking it confidently.

Generally I don’t like a lot of fish but recently, I was really feeling like a nice piece of fish. Luckily my local grocery store had barramundi fillets on sale so I decided to be brave and give it a go.

My take on fish and chips, YUM!

Originally I wanted to try a beer batter but when I discovered the lack of beer in my fridge, that was quickly ousted for a made up batter. I wanted some kind of flavour to it, nothing over powering, so I went with a little paprika for colour and flavour. You could substitute the water and milk in this recipe for beer for a beer batter but omit the paprika! I served with a little greek yoghurt, american mustard and sage mixed together but you can serve with almost anything (tomato or tartar sauce are always good!).

This recipe worked out way better than I could have hoped, perfectly crispy on the outside and soft/crumbley on the inside! Do yourself a favour and whip up a batch! You could use this batter to coat almost any seafood, I’m eager to try this with calamari or prawns.

What you need:

Nice fresh fish (this recipe coated 3 large barramundi fillets easily)
3/4 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup cold water
2 – 3 cups vegetable oil

What to do:

1. In a large frypan, heat the vegetable oil. You may need a little more, it should be around an inch deep. Place on a medium-high heat.
2. In a large bowl, place all dry ingredients.
3. Whisk in milk and water well, the batter will be fairly thick.
   

   Batter up!

4. Cut the fish fillets in half long ways.
5. Place half the fish in the batter and stir lightly. Don’t be alarmed if the batter doesn’t 100% stick to the fish, but it should be well covered.
6. With a spoon, dollop a little of the batter in the oil, it should sizzle and form bubbles around it right away. If this occurs, the oil is hot enough. If this does not happen, wait 2-3 minutes then try the dollop method again.
7. Using tongs, place fish fillets in the hot oil.
   

   Fish loves its hot oil bath

8. Cook for approximately 3 minutes on each side, the exterior should be nicely golden.
   

   Side two cooking away

9. Remove from oil and place on paper towel to drain.
10. Coat and cook the rest of the fish.
    

    Golden and delicious

11. Serve with any side you like! Potato chips (hot or cold), salad, coleslaw or potato salad. Most importantly a lemon wedge!