Courgette Fritters
Lightly crisped on the outside and soft and creamy
inside, these fritters are just as good cold as hot or warm. They make
excellent picnic food and are also a lovely nibble to have with a drink
on a warm summer’s evening or, on a cool summer's evening, to fry in
batches in the kitchen so everyone can enjoy them hot, straight from the
pan.
Makes 15-20 fritters
Time taken 45 minutes
500g
courgettes
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion
100g grated parmesan or pecorino
2 level tablespoons self-raising flour
1 large egg
2 tablespoons finely chopped dill and parsley
ground black pepper
more oil for frying the fritters
Trim and grate the courgettes, put them in a colander, sprinkle over the
salt and leave on the draining board for 15 minutes for the watery
juices to run out.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan, finely chop the onion
and fry until soft but not browned.
Squeeze the grated courgettes to extract as much juice as possible, this
stops the fritters being soggy. Put the courgettes into a large bow,
scrape in the fried onion and add the cheese, flour, egg, herbs and
pepper. Stir to mix well. Heat the frying oil.
Take spoonfuls of the fritter mixture, tablespoon or smaller depending
on the size of fritter you want to end up with and put them, spaced out
in the hot oil. Flatten slightly with the back of your spatula and fry
until firm and golden, then flip over and fry until the other side is
browned to your liking.
Drain on kitchen paper and eat hot or leave them to cool.
They usually get eaten first, but they will keep till the next day.