Carrot Fritters

photo: Marina Oliphant

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups grated carrots (about 1 large carrot)
• 1 1/2 cups corn kernels (frozen or canned will do but freshly cooked tastes better)
• 1 egg
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 heaped tbsp parsley or coriander, chopped
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup self-raising flour
• 1/2 cup cornflour
• 1/2 tsp curry powder*
• Pinch salt
• Olive oil for frying

Method:

Combine the ingredients in a bowl. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat with a little olive oil. Fry spoonfuls of the mixture until golden brown on both sides. Drain on kitchen paper.

Serve with avocado dip.

Makes 12-15 fritters.

Sourced: Cuisine.com.au

Fried ricotta

These crunchy, golden little morsels make a great start to a meal with either a crisp green salad, some slow-roasted tomatoes or even sauteed mushrooms. Eat them while they're hot.

Ingredients

• 500g fresh ricotta*
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 tbsp grated parmesan
• salt and pepper
• flour for dusting
• olive oil for frying

* If the ricotta is very fresh, it will be a little wet and difficult to cut. Place in a colander and allow to drain for a few hours in the fridge.

Method
Slice the ricotta into 1cm-thick pieces and place on kitchen paper. Whisk the eggs together with the grated parmesan, a little salt and some pepper. Place flour in a bowl. Heat a large frying pan with enough olive oil to come 1cm up the sides. When hot, dust a few pieces of ricotta in flour, dip into the egg mix and ease into the pan. Cook a few slices at a time, turning so that they become golden on both sides. Remove with a spatula and sit them on kitchen paper while you cook the rest. Serve immediately.

Serves: 4 as a starter

sourced: Cuisine.com.au

Baked Sweet Potato Falafel

photo: 101 Cookbooks

Baked Sweet Potato Falafel

These falafel are Leon's most popular veggie dish to date. They knew they wanted falafel on the menu, but chose not to have deep fryers. After some experimenting, this sweet potato and chickpea flour version was developed.

2 medium sweet potatoes (orange inside), around 700g or 1 1/2 pounds in total

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 small cloves of garlic, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 big handfuls of fresh cilantro/coriander, chopped

Juice of half a lemon

a scant cup (120g) gram /chickpea flour 

a splash of olive oil

a sprinkling of sesame seeds

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425F degrees (220C) and roast the sweet potatoes whole until just tender - 45 minutes to 1 hour. Turn off the oven, leave the potatoes to cool, then peel.Put the sweet potatoes, cumin, garlic, ground and fresh coriander, lemon juice and gram/chickpea flour into a large bowl. Season well, and mash until smooth with no large chunks. Stick in the fridge to firm up for an hour, or the freezer for 20-30 minutes. 

When you take it out, your mix should be sticky rather than really wet. You can add a tablespoon or so more of chickpea flour if necessary (the water content of sweet potatoes varies enormously).

Reheat the oven to 400F/200C. Using a couple of soup spoons (put a well-heaped spoonful of mix in one spoon and use the concave side of the other to shape the sides) or a falafel scoop if you have one, make the mixture into falafelly looking things and put them on an oiled tray. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and bake in the oven for around 15 minutes, until the bases are golden brown.

Makes about 18 falafel, enough for 4 - 6.

Reprinted with permission from Leon: Ingredients and Recipes by Allegra McEvedy. (Conran Octopus Ltd. 2008)

Sourced : 101 Cookbooks