Sweetcorn fritters with roast tomatoes, bacon and avocado salsa

Tex Mex was huge around the time we opened bills. Tinned chipotles were flavour of the month and Navajo blankets were being dragged down every fashionable catwalk. This was in the days before we were concerned about cultural appropriation, and we were living in a Santa Fe fantasy world. These sweetcorn fritters were my nod to that, but they outlived the phase and are still on the menu. With its combination of crunch and big flavours, this is my own favourite breakfast dish.

SERVES 4

PREPARATION TIME 35 minutes COOKING TIME about 50 minutes

FOR THE ROAST TOMATOES

4 ripe Roma (plum) tomatoes, halved 4tbsp extra virgin olive oil

FOR THE AVOCADO SALSA

1 large avocado, diced

1½ tomatoes, deseeded and diced 2tbsp chopped coriander

2tbsp lemon or lime juice

2tbsp finely chopped spring onion or red onion

1 dash Tabasco sauce, optional

FOR THE SWEETCORN FRITTERS

125g plain flour

1tsp baking powder

¼tsp paprika

1tbsp sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

100ml milk

2 corn cobs

½ red pepper, diced

2 spring onions, sliced

1 large handful mixed chopped coriander and parsley

4tbsp light-flavoured oil, to fry TO SERVE

Baby spinach or rocket

4 grilled bacon rashers

Extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle, optional

1 To make the roast tomatoes, preheat the oven to 180˚C (160°C fan) mark 4. Put the tomatoes on a baking tray, cut-side up, and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast in the oven for 40min.

2 To make the avocado salsa, gently toss together all the ingredients and season with salt and pepper.

3 To make the fritters, sift the flour, baking powder, ¼tsp salt and paprika into a large bowl, stir in the sugar and make a well in the centre. 4 Mix together the eggs and milk and pour slowly into the well in the dry ingredients, whisking to a smooth, lumpfree batter. The batter will be quite stiff.

5 Slice the kernels off the corn cobs and put the corn, red pepper, spring onions and herbs in a mixing bowl. Add just enough batter to lightly bind them. (Any leftover batter can be kept in the fridge for 3 days; do not mix with the corn until you are ready to cook.) 6 Heat 2tbsp oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and drop in 2tbsp of batter per fritter, cooking 4 fritters at a time. Cook for 2min, or until the undersides are golden. Turn and cook the other sides. Transfer to a plate and keep warm while cooking the rest.

7 Serve the fritters with roast tomato halves, avocado salsa, a little spinach or rocket and a rasher of bacon. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, if you like.