Butternut and potato cakes

Tags

brunch, butternut, cakes, cumin, fritters, lunch, middle eastern, pancakes, potato, potimarron, vegetarian, za'atar

If you only try one new recipe this month, do try this one. These healthy vegetable pancakes are excellent for breakfast or brunch topped with a poached egg, served as a light lunch with a side salad or even as a tasty side dish to accompany meat for dinner. There is no need to shred or grate the veggies, you simply boil them as if you were making a mash – cannot be easier and less washing up too. Feel free to add some corn, cooked cauliflower or even broccoli to the mix if you wish. I have spiced them up a bit and given them a bit of a middle eastern flavour by adding the cumin and the za’atar and the taste is pure heaven. They are also not deep fried like fritters but lightly sautéed more like a pancake, so healthier for you too. So, what are you waiting for…. Get cooking.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes
500 g / 1 lb butternut or potimarron, peeled and cut into large cubes
1 tablespoon butter
2 medium onions, diced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon za’atar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 egg, whisked
3 tablespoons oil
to serve
1/2 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Handful of rocket or mâche leaves

Preparation:

Place the butternut and potatoes in a saucepan with water and cook until soft
Drain and return to the heat to dry them out for about 20 seconds
Mash with a potato ricer or a masher, set aside
In a sauté pan, over medium heat, melt the butter and add the onions
Cook until soft and lightly brown
Add the onions to the butternut and potato mixture
Add the cumin, za’atar, salt and pepper
Add the egg and mix well to combine, the mixture will be soft but not runny
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan
Spoon heaps of the mixture into the pan and press gently to flatten a bit
After about 2 minutes, flip the cakes carefully (they are fairly soft)
Cook until golden brown
Keep warm until all the mixture has been cooked
Place one cake on a plate and top with a spoonful of crème fraîche, add another cake and another spoonful of cream
Sprinkle with the cilantro and the salad leaves
Enjoy!

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Bugnes / Sweet Lyonnais Fritters (angel wings)

Tags

angel wings, bugnes, fritters, lyon

These little delicacies are traditionally served at Mardi Gras and they have been popular since the Middle ages when they were sold by vendors in the same way that waffles or churros are sold at street fairs today. Bugnes form part of that large family of beignets or “donuts” whose name and shape vary depending on the region and families. They originate from Lyon. Bugnes are often cut with a scalloped pastry wheel into a diamond shape and have a little hole in the centre or twisted into the figure eight and are served dusted with icing or powdered sugar. They are incredibly light and pillowy and you could easily eat a large quantity without realising it.

This recipe is Paul Bocuse’s favourite recipe for these little treats.

Makes about 100

Ingredients:

4 cups flour
Pinch sugar
Pinch salt
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
4 eggs
225 g / 1/2 lb sweet butter, softened
Zest of 1 lemon, grated
1 tablespoon rum
About 6 cups peanut or canola oil for frying
Powdered sugar for garnish

Preparation:

In a large bowl, combine the flour and sugar
Add the baking powder and salt and stir
Add the eggs, one at a time
Add the soft butter, lemon zest, rum and work them into the other ingredients with your fingers until a smooth dough forms
Heat the oil in a large pan over medium high heat
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry until quite thin
Using a scalloped pastry wheel, cut the pastry into 10 cm / 4″ triangles or 4″ by 2″ (10 cm by 5 cm) rectangles with a slit down the middle through which the corners of the pastry can be pulled to form little bows
Once the oil is hot (375 F / 185 C) add the pieces of dough a few at a time
As soon as the Bugnes rise to the surface and are lightly brown, remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain
Sprinkle with powdered sugar while still warm
Bon Appétit!

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Courgette flower fritters – shrimp and fromage frais filled

Tags

appetiser, appetizer, courgette flowers, fritters, fromage frais, shrimp, tempura, zucchini blossoms

Deep fried stuffed courgette blossoms have a special place in my food memory banks. To be honest, I do not remember the restaurant but I remember that I was about 12 years old, in Paris, with my mother and we went out to eat and were served this amazing amuse bouche, a tasty mouthful of hot, beignet or fritter. It was simple yet fabulous. I had no idea what it was but so enjoyed it that we asked the chef and discovered that we had just eaten a deep fried courgette flower stuffed with goat cheese and fresh herbs. Since then, they are one of my favourite starters or nibbles with an aperitif so when it is courgette season, do yourself a favour and get some fresh flowers and make this quick, simple yet superb recipe. By the way, courgettes are known as zucchini or marrows in different countries. These flowers I picked from my garden a few minutes before making the dish.

The fritters are coated in a tempura batter which is very quick and easy to whip up. It is very light and crispy when cooked and not in the slightest bit oily. The traditional way of making tempura calls for cold water and ice cubes but I find that ice cold sparkling water makes an excellent light batter.

Straight from my garden

The filling

Filled and ready to be dipped in the batter and fried

Serves 4

Ingredients:

fritters
3 or 4 blossoms per person (12 to 16)
16 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
3/4 cup fromage frais or ricotta cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon mixed fresh herbs, minced (basil, parsley, chives)
batter
100 g / 3 1/2 oz flour
40 g / 1 1/2 oz cornflour (maizena)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
200 ml / 3/4 to 1 cup ice cold sparkling water

Peanut oil, for frying
Tartar sauce and chilli sauce for serving

Preparation:

batter
Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cornflour into a bowl
Whisk in the cold sparkling water and mix well but do not overmix
Place in the refrigerator until ready to use, not more than 1 hour
The batter should be the consistency of heavy cream
fritters
Cut the shrimp into small pieces and place in a bowl
Add the soft fromage frais, salt and pepper and mixed herbs and mix well
Clean the blossoms with a damp towel, do not wash them
Gently pry the blossoms open and with your fingers carefully remove the pistil and stamen and discard
Divide the filling among the blossoms and twist the top of each blossom gently to seal it
Heat the oil, you want about 1 1/2 cm / 1/2 ” in a large skillet, until very hot but not smoking
Working one by one, dip the blossoms in the batter, coating them well and place in the hot oil
You will need to do this in batches as you do not want to crowd the skillet
Fry the fritters about 1 1/2 minutes per side, the coating should be golden brown
Remove from the oil and drain on a plate lined with a paper towel
Serve immediately with the dipping sauces
Enjoy!