Fish fritters with sumac and lemon tahini dipping sauce
These are fantastic to make ahead – eat them at room temperature stuffed into a pita with salad for a quick lunch or reheat and have as a starter at a dinner party. Sumac – from a Middle Eastern berry – adds a citrusy brightness and is available in the spice sections of all big supermarkets, as well as from Mediterranean or Middle Eastern grocery shops.
Serves 4 (makes about 12 fritters)
INGREDIENTS: for the fritters
1 red onion, chopped
1 green chilli, chopped (deseed if you prefer less heat)
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 egg
600g skinless white fish fillet (e.g. cod, haddock, hake), roughly chopped into chunks 1 tsp salt freshly ground black pepper 1 tsp sumac, plus extra to garnish
3 tbsp medium matzah meal or dried breadcrumbs, plus extra for coating sunflower oil (or other flavourless oil), for frying
for the tahini dipping sauce
5 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp olive oil
½ garlic clove, crushed Juice of 1 lemon
4 tbsp cold water
A splash of hot sauce Salt and freshly ground black pepper
METHOD:
For the fritters, you can mix the ingredients by hand if you chop everything as finely as you can, but a food processor makes it much easier.
First, put the onion, chilli, garlic and egg in the bowl of the food processor and pulse to a coarse purée. Add the fish, salt, a few turns of black pepper, the sumac and matzah meal or breadcrumbs and pulse again four or five times until you have a textured mix – you don’t want it too smooth, just make sure that everything is blended and the fish is broken down.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes or so until it has firmed up.
Meanwhile, make the dipping sauce. Whisk all the ingredients together by hand or using a stick blender. Taste and adjust the seasoning and transfer to a small bowl.
Using damp hands, shape the chilled fish mixture into around 12 walnut-sized balls and flatten them slightly into patties.
Coat each one with the extra matzah meal or breadcrumbs and set aside while you heat the oil.
Pour the oil into a frying pan so that it is about
1cm deep and place over a medium-high heat until it is shimmering but not smoking. Fry the fritters in batches for about 3 minuteson each side, or until a deep golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with more sumac.
Serve the fritters with the dipping sauce on the side or drizzled over the top.
Exctracted from Cherish (Headline) £28