SWEETCORN FRITTERS WITH PLUM KETCHUP
MAKES 12 FRITTERS AND 1.2 LITRES OF PLUM KETCHUP KETCHUP
➤ 800g plums, stones removed and roughly chopped
➤ 1 large white onion, diced
➤ 1 cm piece of ginger, roughly grated
➤ 80ml red or white wine or cider vinegar
➤ 100g caster sugar
➤ 1 cinnamon stick
➤ 3 bay leaves
➤ ¼ tsp ground allspice
➤ 3 tsp salt
SWEETCORN FRITTERS
➤ 2 corn on the cob (boiled for eight minutes until tender then slice the corn off the cob, or use
➤ 250g frozen sweetcorn, defrosted)
➤ 50g quick-cook polenta
➤ 150g plain flour
➤ 1 tsp baking powder
➤ Salt and black pepper, to taste
➤ 3 eggs, beaten
➤ 250g plain yoghurt
➤ 15g butter (about 1 tbsp), melted
➤ 2 tbsp oil for frying
1 First, make the ketchup. In a non-reactive pan, add the plums, onion, ginger, vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, bay leaves, allspice, salt and 200ml cold water. Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for around 25 minutes while stirring from time to time. Remove from the heat. Blend the mixture and return to the pan, bringing it back up to the boil. Remove from the heat and bottle in clean, sterilised jars, in which it will keep for about a year. Once opened, store the ketchup in the fridge and consume within two weeks.
2 For the fritters, mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Whisk together the eggs, yoghurt and melted butter and add to the dry mix. Briefly whisk to combine and stir in the sweetcorn.
3 Heat the oil in a cast-iron or non-stick frying pan over a moderate to high heat. Use a large spoon to add measures (about the size of a satsuma) of the fritter mix to the pan. Reduce the heat to moderate and fry the fritters until golden brown and crisp, about two to three minutes on each side, flipping carefully. Work in batches to fry all the mix. Serve hot, or cold on a picnic along with the plum ketchup.