Egg free, wheat free, nut free, gluten free (optional: dairy free)
A SHORT while ago I posted about the wonderful barbecue at my Mum’s house, where, for the first time ever, we were able to turn up with Sid in tow but NO FOOD.
This was huge. It never happens when you’re parent to a food allergy kid. But everything Mum made was suitable for Sidney to eat, and it was amazing. Amazing for us not to have to cart over our tupperwares of pre-prepared safe snacks, and amazing for Sid to pilfer from our plates for the first time in his little life.
These beetroot and carrot fritters went down well, and with the addition of a sprinkling of salt the adults tucked in happily, too.
This is an adapted recipe from one that called for eggs and wheat flour, so a bit of an experiment. But, truly, I don’t know how much better the eggy, wheaty ones would have been as these held together perfectly and tasted delicious. Maybe the egg ‘n’ wheat concoctions would have crisped up more but no matter. These are perfectly crisp on the outside and a nice squidge on the inside.
They’re now a great addition to our repertoire for barbecues, finger food and parties. The following recipe makes about 12 fritters. If you’re dairy free, you could replace the yoghurt with egg replacer…
Ingredients
3 carrots (around 200g)
2 beetroots (around 150g)
2 tbsp plain yoghurt (I use Total Greek yoghurt as it is nice and thick) or egg replacer for dairy free fritters
2 tbsp Dove’s Farm gluten free plain white flour
Black pepper to season
Olive oil
Lemon or lime
Large non-stick frying pan
Large bowl
Method
Grate the raw carrot and beetroot into a large bowl and mix together.
Stir in the yoghurt until the mixture holds together well but isn’t wet.
Add the flour bit-by-bit until the mix is neither sloppy nor too gungy – if it sits thickly on an upside-down spoon without falling out, but retains some moisture, then that’s about right.
Season with black pepper (I don’t use salt for the toddler versions but I would sprinkle some Maldon sea salt on for adult fritters) and a squeeze of lemon or lime.
Scoop up a tablespoon of the mixture and flatten on the spoon, then ‘plop’ it into sizzling hot olive oil in the frying pan. Repeat until the pan is full but the fritters are not touching, and turn the heat down.
If eating straight away, cook until crisp and turning brown, then turn out on to kitchen towel to drain.
Eat hot, warm or cold; unadulterated, with a dash of lime or lemon or with a garnish of creme fraiche and finely chopped red onion.
If you are par-cooking for freezing, fry until slightly crisp and turning lightly golden on both sides, remove from heat and drain between sheets of kitchen towel. When cooled, store in foil cartons between sheets of baking paper and freeze. Defrost thoroughly before reheating in oil.
If you’re having people over, or want to get the mess out of the way, it’s also pretty handy to par-cook the fritters the night before you plan to eat them, or even in the morning. Once they’re cooled, pop them in the fridge and they can be reheated to golden brown when you need them.
yesnobananas 