richard I couldn’t think of an introduction to this recipe so I ran it back and forth through BabelFish a few times until I ended up with ‘Muntachtige pea fries in oil the pie of meat [s] in order to fumigate the salmon of the friend’.
Incidentally, apologies to Gordon Ramsay for our childish reference to his facelift and hair transplant, it turns out both are due to his grizzled physiognomy (fizzog) being doused in petrol by a startled horse.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Skill level: easy
Serves: 2 for a light lunch, 4 for a starter
Ingredients
- frozen peas – defrosted – 200g
- fresh mint – 10g
- plain flour – 50g
- 1 egg
- natural yoghurt – 1 tbsp
- baking powder – ½ tsp
- crème fraîche – 150ml
- grated zest of 1 lemon (plus lemon slices to garnish)
- smoked salmon – cut into thin strips – 100g
- olive oil for frying
- s and p
- plus optional watercress to garnish
Put the peas and mint leaves in a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped.
Add the egg, yoghurt, flour and baking powder, season well and blend until everything is combined.
Pour a little oil in a large frying pan and place over a medium heat.
Place heaped tablespoons of the fritter mixture into the pan and flatten down with the back of spoon.
Cook for 2-3 minutes until the undersides are golden, then turn and cook on the other side for a further 2-3 minutes.
Keep warm in a low oven while you repeat with the remaining mixture. You should end up with 8 fritters.
Put the crème fraîche in a bowl, stir in the lemon zest and season with black pepper.
To serve place 1 fritter on the serving plate and top with a little of the crème fraîche and strips of smoked salmon (be generous). Top with another fritter and finish with more crème fraîche and smoked salmon.
Serve with a garnish of watercress, a twist of black pepper and a wedge of lemon.
Verdict: We had ours for dinner although this would make a perfect weekend brunch.
Drink: Lager and red wine (not necessarily in the same glass)
Entertainment: ‘The White Ribbon’ on DVD. Reading subtitles and amusing Yumblog Junior is a tricky combination to master.
