Zucchini and Feta Fritters with Corn Salsa

I love this corn salsa - it's such a healthy, fresh taste, and the lime really gives it a nice Creole kinda kick!

Zucchini and Feta Fritters with Corn Salsa

Fritters

1 zucchini, grated
1 cup self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon dried chilli flakes (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
100 grams feta cheese, crumbled


1 - Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl with a fork, so that no flour lumps remain.

2 - Heat a fry pan over a medium high heat. Drop a soup spoon's worth of batter into the pan, then spread them out a bit to flattened them. Cook for 2ish minutes, or until you see the bubbles begin to form, then flip them over and cook for another couple of minutes. Remover, then cover to keep warm until all the batter is gone.


Corn Salsa

2 ripe tomatoes, core removed and roughly diced
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 can corn kernals, drained well
juice of one lime
1 teaspooon of the best olive oil you possess
coriander leaves, to serve

1 - Add all the ingredients together, and mix well, so the juice intermingle. Just before serving, top with coriander leaves.

Corn fritters with salad and lime mayonnaise

This meal also makes a nice weekend breakfast, if you don't mind sacrificing your lie-in. Otherwise, keep it for dinner and enjoy. Oh, and do try to make the lime mayo - it really gives the dish a real kick!

Corn Fritters

400 gram tin corn kernals, drained
1 cup self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon dried chilli flakes (or more to taste)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 - Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl with a fork, so that no flour lumps remain.

2 - Heat a fry pan over a medium high heat. Drop a soup spoon's worth of batter into the pan, then spread them out a bit to flattened them. Cook for 2ish minutes, or until you see the bubbles begin to form, then flip them over and cook for another couple of minutes. Remover, then cover to keep warm until all the batter is gone.

Salad

2 handfuls baby spinach leaves, washed well and dried
1 avocado, cut into little chunks

Lime Mayonnaise

1/2 cup whole egg mayonnaise
Juice of one lime

Assemblage

1 - Place some of the spinach leaves and avocado on each plate.

2 - Mix the mayo and lime juice together. Drizzle over the salad on each plate.

3 - Top the salad with 2 or 3 fritters each, then serve.

Asparagus, corn and cheese lasagne

Spring has arrived, which means asparagus. Hooray!

Asparagus, Corn and Cheese Lasagne

2 bunches asparagus, woody ends removed, and stalks cut in half
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 packet lasagne sheets
400 gram tin corn kernals, drained
50 grams butter
2 tablespoons flour
500 ml milk
1 cup grated tasty cheese
100 grams parmesan cheese, grated

1 - Preheat oven to 200 C. Place the asparagus in a roasting pan, and toss with the olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes, or until tender. Set aside.

2 - Meanwhile, soak the lasagne sheets in some water while the asparagus is roasting. This will make them lovely and tender once cooked.

3 - Make the cheese sauce: Melt the butter over a medium heat, then stir in the flour so a paste forms. Slowly add the milk, stirring hard so that no lumps appear. Add only a little milk at a time, keeping the sauce thick. Once all the milk is gone, and the sauce is nice and gloopy, add the cheese. Let the cheese melt, then take off the heat.

4 - Dry the lasagne sheets on a clean towel (dur, as if you'd use a grubby one!), then place a layer in a large baking dish. Spread over 1/3 of the cheese sauce, then top with half the asparagus and half the corn. Top with another layer of lasagne, then with another third of the cheese sauce, and the rest of the asparagus and corn. Top with another lasagne sheet layer, the rest of the sauce, then sprinkle the top with the parmesan cheese. Bake for 36 - 40 minutes, or until the lasagne sheets are tender, and the top is golden and bubbling. Serve with a crunchy green salad.

Corn Chowder with Veggie Roll Ups

This slightly spicy soup is just the thing to take the edge off a chilly spring evening, with the corn being a welcome reminder of the balmy days to come.

Corn Chowder

1 onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chilli flakes
800 gram tin corn kernals, drained and rinsed
3 potatoes, peeled and diced into 2 cm pieces
1 red capsicum, diced
1 litre vegetable stock
50 grams feta cheese, crumbled

1 - Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, and cook until golden and tender. Add the chilli flakes, and cook a minute more.

2 - Add the corn, potato, capsicum and stock, and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the potato is tender. Set aside to cool.

3 - Remove half the soup and puree it. Return to the pan, reheat, then serve. Garnish with feta, and coriander if you like. Serve with the veggie roll ups.

Veggie Roll Ups

3 pieces wholemeal Sorj bread
1 small tub hommus dip
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1/2 iceberg lettuce, washed well and sliced thinly
Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 - Place each piece of Sorj bread out onto a flat surface. Spread with the hommus dip.

2 - Layer the carrot and lettuce on top then sprinkly with some of the lemon juice. Roll up each piece of bread, then cut into threes. Repeat with remaining bread. Serve with chowder.

Thai lentil curry pies with corn on the cob

I love making these ramekin pies. It's basically just a really easy way of jazzing up a casserole - put it in the bowl, whack some pastry on top, then call it a pie. Brilliant! And if you serve it up to dinner guests, everybody does the big "Oooooh!" and "Ahhhhh!" thing, because it looks like you spent hours fiddling around in the kitchen. Big points for impressing people, all thanks to a little bit of pasty. Love it!

Thai lentil curry pies

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste (or to taste)
1 onion, diced
1/2 cauliflower, cut into florets
1 red capsicum, diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
100 grams green beans, top and tailed, and cut into 3 cm lengths
1 cup red lentils
400 ml tin coconut milk
1 1/2 cups water
1 sheet puff pastry
Sesame seeds

1 - Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat, then add the onion and cook until golden and tender. Add the red curry paste, and cook for a minute or two more.

2 - Add the coconut milk, water and lentils, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until lentils are beginning to tenderise, add the sweet potato half way through.

3 - Add the remaining vegetables, and simmer, covered for 5 minutes, stirring often. The mixture should be nice and thick, with the lentils mushy.

4 - Preheat the oven to 200 C. Spoon the mixture into ramekins, then cover each ramekin with a piece of puff pastry. Lightly oil the pastry, and scatter with sesame seeds. Place the ramekins on a baking tray, then bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed up and golden. Remove from oven, let sit for 5 minutes, then serve with the corn.

Corn on the cob

1 corn cob per person

1 - Fill a medium sized saucepan with salted water, and bring to the boil.

2 - Add the corn cobs, and cook for 5ish minutes. Remove from the water, then serve.