Purple fritters with spicy salad

With my beetroot this week, I was going to make some roasted root salad, with spices, fruit and nuts. But instead I got happy with my grater and made up these pinky purple fritters, which were super yum and great with just a simple salad with a citrussy-spicy dressing. Recommended for meat eaters! As an extra treat, we griddled the extra halloumi from the pack and alternated grilled halloumi and fritters in a tasty pile of loveliness. This makes enough for two.

Fritters:
4-5 beets (little ones), peeled and grated
1 small onion, chopped little
1/4 of a pack of halloumi, grated
a teaspoon or so of cumin seeds, toasted in a dry pan
a handful of finely chopped parsley (or coriander would be great)
One egg, beaten
A tablespoon of chickpea (gram) flour
Salt and pepper to season

Salad:
Some nice seasonal leaves
A handful of whatever seeds or nut you have (pumpkin, sunflower, walnuts, cashews, sesame), toasted in a dry pan
A handful of dried fruits - I used cranberries

Dressing:
Juice from a couple of clementines (or one larger orange)
Juice of one lemon
Sugar and honey, to taste
Teaspoon or so of white wine vinegar
Harissa paste, to taste (I used about a teaspoon)
Oil - whatever you fancy. I used walnut oil for extra rich nuttiness

First, make the dressing. Put the citrus juices in a pan and add the sugar and honey, then heat for a while until it starts to bubble and reduce a little to form more of a syruppy consistency. Then remove from the heat and stir in the other ingredients and season, tasting and adding extra if necessary. Set aside.

Then mix together the dry fritter ingredients in a bowl, and gradually add the egg, just enough so it binds together. Heat a large frying pan so it's really hot then add oil. Dollop in spoonfuls of the mixture to sizzle away, gently pressing them down so they form flat fritters. They'll need maybe 2-3 minutes on each side, that's all.

While they're cooking, dress and arrange the leaves on your plates, sprinkling over the nuts, seeds and fruit is using. Then stack up the fritters on top (with the sliced and griddled remaining halloumi, if using), and tuck in!

A comforting spring vegetable broth

This is a great way of eating spring veggies at their very best; cooking for the minimum time possible to retain their sweetness and gentle crunch. Tiny mint and basil leaves along with chopped fennel tops enhance the flavour, although dill could work equally well, (but mine hasn't grown yet). The white wine brings a lovely freshness. You could use chicken stock as well if you're not veggie.


I think a lot of people wouldn't try cooking lettuce, but actually it's a fantastic way to use little gem or other romaine lettuces, which can sometimes be a bit bitter, because the compact heart means it'll keep its shape well. Everything needs to be sliced up super small and cooked for very little time, as it'll carry on in the bowl when you're eating it.It'd also work with any other spring veg you've got - perhaps beans, baby carrots or asparagus. It's a nice way of cooking spring veg as a side dish too (although a shame to waste the tasty broth) - perhaps serve with fish if you're that way inclined?

This would work really well as a starter as it's wonderfully light, but works equally well as a tasty lunch with some day old bread to mop up the juice.