Snack on corn fritters with roast tomatoes and smashed avocado
Those of us who firmly believe breakfast can be eaten at any time of day can often be sighted feasting on pancakes for dessert, eggs for lunch and cereal for dinner. Now imagine the wealth of possibilities that emerge when poring through the pages of the brilliant Breakfast & Brunch chapter of Shelagh Ryan’s new cookbook, Cafe Kitchen. The fuss-free recipes journey from smoked haddock fishcakes with dill mayo to banana bread with raspberry labne to this recipe for corn fritters with roast tomatoes and smashed avocado. Now running three successful cafes in London, Brisbane-born Shelagh shares a collection of fabulous cafe-style meals to get you through the day. The recipe below serves six.
INGREDIENTS
Fritters
1 medium zucchini, grated
4 eggs
1-1/3 cups self rising flour
50 g grated parmesan cheese
100 ml buttermilk
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for sides
1 tablespoon coriander, chopped
fresh corn kernels cut from 2–3 cobs
sunflower oil, for frying
fresh spinach and crème fraîche, to serve
Roast tomatoes
35–40 cherry vine tomatoes
olive oil
Smashed avocado
3 avocados
freshly squeezed juice of 2 limes and grated zest of 1
1/4 red onion, diced
1 teaspoon hot sauce
salt
TO MAKE
Put the zucchini into a colander resting over a bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and leave for 30 minutes to 1 hour so it releases its moisture. Use your hands to squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
For the roast tomatoes, preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 15–20 minutes until the skins begin to split.
Reduce the oven temperature to 170°C and prepare the fritter mix. In a clean, dry bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. Add the flour, parmesan cheese, buttermilk, paprika, cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, freshly ground black pepper and coriander. Stir in the zucchini and corn kernels until the batter evenly coats the vegetables.
Add enough sunflower oil to thinly cover the bottom of a heavy-based frying pan. Add generous spoonfuls of batter to the pan and cook for approximately 4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Transfer to a baking sheet and put in the oven for 4–5 minutes to ensure the fritters are cooked through. Repeat with the remaining batter. You may need to add more oil to the pan for each batch.
Just before serving, roughly mash the avocados with a fork, leaving the mixture fairly chunky. Stir in the remaining ingredients and season generously with salt. Serve the fritters with the roasted tomatoes, smashed avocado, fresh spinach and crème fraîche.
Recipe and images from Cafe Kitchen by Shelagh Ryan. Published by Hardie Grant Books.
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