Summer Sizzlers: Try these sweetcorn, shallot and chilli fritters with tomato and shallot chutney

By Brian Stormont

April 23 2021, 8:00am

As we move into warmer days, it’s time to say au revoir to our Comfort Food Friday series for the time being and introduce you to Summer Sizzlers.

For our first recipe, we bring you these sweetcorn, shallot and chilli fritters which comes from UK Shallots

These fritters are perfect for a lazy breakfast or weekend brunch, and are ideal to be served al fresco if you have some friends coming round for a garden get-together.

Served with tomato and shallot chutney, really indulge yourself with these tasty fritters by adding a poached egg on top.

Sweetcorn, shallot and chilli fritters with tomato and shallot chutney

(Serves 6)

Ingredients

For the chutney:

1 large echalion shallot, finely sliced
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
40g golden caster sugar
85ml white wine vinegar
150g cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped

For the fritters:

2 tbsp coconut oil
1 large echalion shallot
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 small bunch coriander
1 chilli, seeds removed and finely diced
2 tsp mild curry powder
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
325g can sweetcorn in water
75g gram flour (chickpea flour)

To serve:

Sour cream or vegan coconut yoghurt
Diced chilli
Coriander, roughly chopped

Method

Place all the chutney ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat. Add 1 tbsp water and bring the ingredients to the boil.
Lower the heat and allow to gently simmer and reduce for approximately 10-15 minutes – you want to reduce the liquid, breakdown the tomatoes and achieve and thick, sticky jam consistency. Remove from the heat and allow to cool and thicken further.
Heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a large pan. Gently fry the shallots in the oil for 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and fry for a further 1 minute.
Finely chop the stems of the coriander and add to the pan along with the chilli, curry powder and seasoning. Fry for a final minute.
Spoon the shallot mixture into a large bowl and sprinkle in the gram flour and roughly chopped coriander leaves. Tip in the sweetcorn along with the liquid in the can and stir through all the ingredients. Whisking with a fork, add 50ml of cold water to create a batter. Leave to sit for 5 minutes for the gram flour to absorb some of the liquid.
When the batter is ready, melt the remaining coconut oil in a clean frying pan. In batches, spoon a heaped tablespoon worth of fritter mixture into the hot pan. Turn down the heat to medium and fry for 2-3 minutes – the fritters are ready to be flipped when you can easily get a spatula underneath. Cook on the second side for a further 2 minutes.
Place the cooked fritters on a lined baking tray and put in a warm oven whilst you make the remaining fritters. The mixture makes six decent-size fritters.
To serve, stack the fritters on a plate and top with a spoon of tomato and shallot chutney and sour cream. Sprinkle with a little extra chilli for heat and coriander for freshness.