Fresh FROM THE VEG PATCH
From her Oxfordshire garden, Kathy Slack grows to cook, with simple seasonal recipes that put vegetables centre stage
ating and growing are part of the same process to me. I’m not the traditional kind of kitchen gardener for whom tinkering on the allotment is pleasure enough. I grow to cook. I think about what I’m going to do with a plant as I’m putting it in the ground. As I dibber my leek holes, I plan a leek and blue cheese tart, imagining the neat rounds of homegrown leeks nestled in crumbly, walnutflecked pastry, like a prayer for safe passage and good fortune to my baby leeks in the coming months. Growing food also means that I naturally gravitate towards veg-centric cooking. I am so overwhelmed to have created a bucketful of carrots from nothing more than a spoonful of seeds that I don’t want to chop them up to lose in a Bolognese. I want to celebrate them in all their glory, and so here my recipes make them the centre of the dish.
COURGETTE, CUMIN AND LIME FRITTERS
Here, cumin, coriander and lime embellish an otherwise straightforward batter good for any grated veg, but do experiment with other flavourings – basil and lemon or smoked paprika and chilli – or leave out altogether. The heroes are courgettes this time, but they could just as easily be grated carrot, beetroot, parsnips or cauliflower another day. After you’ve made them for supper, try them cold for a packed lunch.
Preparation 20 minutes Cooking about 20 minutes Makes 8-10 60G SELF-RAISING FLOUR
1 TSP GROUND CUMIN
½ TSP FLAKY SEA SALT
1 MEDIUM EGG
40ML WHOLE MILK
250G COURGETTES, TRIMMED
3 TBSP FINELY CHOPPED CORIANDER LEAVES 1 LIME, ZEST AND JUICE
200ML SUNFLOWER OIL, FOR FRYING 200G NATURAL YOGURT
1 Preheat the oven to 120°C (100°C fan oven) gas mark ½. 2 Whisk together the flour, cumin, measured salt and a few turns of pepper in a large bowl. Beat the egg and milk together in a jug, then pour it gradually into the dry mix, whisking as you go, to create a smooth batter.
3 Grate the courgettes onto a chopping board using the coarse side of a box grater, then squeeze them between your hands to get rid of any excess liquid. Add the gratings to the batter with 1 tbsp of the chopped coriander and the lime zest and stir through.
4 Pour the sunflower oil into a large, non-stick frying pan so it is, give or take, 2cm deep. Warm over a medium-high heat until a droplet of batter fizzes on contact with the oil. Spoon big tablespoon-sized dollops of the batter into the pan and fry for 4-6 minutes on each side. They are ready when the outside is golden and the inside is fluffy and just cooked through. You may need to do this in batches, so transfer the cooked fritters to a plate lined with kitchen paper and pop them into the oven while you cook the rest.
5 Mix the yogurt with the remaining coriander leaves, lime juice and a pinch of salt, and serve it in a bowl alongside the fritters.