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

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

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