Recipe of the week: carrot fritters with herby yoghurt by Tom Kerridge

Tom Kerridge’s carrot fritters with herby yoghurt

(Image credit: © Cristian Barnett)

These crunchy fritters make for a perfect speedy lunch, says Tom Kerridge. Carrots bring sweetness and there’s gentle spicing from the nigella seeds and cumin, all cooled down with a herby yoghurt dip. Once you’ve got the hang of making them, play around with the ingredients you use – any root veg, or courgettes, will work.

Ingredients: makes 16-20

500g grated carrots
2 large free-range eggs, beaten
1 tsp nigella (black onion) seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
4 spring onions, finely sliced
3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
6 tbsp plain flour
4 tbsp finely grated parmesan
salt and freshly ground black pepper
50ml vegetable or sunflower oil, to cook
lemon wedges, to serve

Herby yoghurt

250g Greek yoghurt
juice of ½ a lemon
1 small garlic clove, finely grated
2 tbsp mint leaves, finely chopped
2 tbsp dill leaves, chopped

Method

Put the grated carrots into the middle of a clean kitchen cloth or tea towel and squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible. Tip the carrots into a large bowl.
Add the beaten eggs, spices, spring onions, parsley, flour and grated parmesan to the carrots and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix with your hands or a wooden spoon until well combined. (Now this mixture can hold in the fridge until you are ready to cook the fritters.)
For the herby yoghurt, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Place a large non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. When it is hot, add the oil and let it heat up. Test the oil by putting a tiny bit of the carrot mixture into the pan; if bubbles form around it, the oil is ready.
You will need to cook the fritters in batches. Add heaped tablespoonfuls of the carrot mixture to the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until crisp and golden brown on each side, flattening each one a little with the back of the spoon before flipping it over.
As the fritters are cooked, pop them onto a baking tray and keep them warm in a low oven, while you cook the rest.
Once they are all cooked, pop the fritters onto plates and add a big spoonful of herby yoghurt. Serve with lemon wedges, and a side salad.

Taken from Real Life Recipes by Tom Kerridge, published by Bloomsbury Absolute at £26. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £20.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk