Season: 

Type:  Starters

Difficulty:  Intermediate

Serves:  6 at home or 30 tastes in the classroom

Fresh from the garden:  sweetcorn, sage, chives, parsley, eggs

Recipe source: Adapted from Stephanie Alexander’s Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids

• metric measuring spoons and cups
• chopping boards & non-slip mats
• 1 large knife
• tea towel
• mezzaluna
• kitchen paper
• plate
• non-stick frying pan – 1 small, 1 large
• egg flip
• scales
• bowls – 1 small, 3 medium, 1 large
• small saucepan
• whisk
• wooden spoon
• baking tray
• small serving bowls
• serving plates
• large teaspoon

• 3 cobs sweetcorn
• 30 large sage leaves
• 10 chives
• 10 stalks parsley
• 1 cup yoghurt
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 egg
• 275 g coarse polenta
• ¼ cup plain flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 40 g butter
• 2 cups buttermilk

• Set out your equipment and ingredients.
• Cut the kernels from each cob and put in the small bowl.

Prepare the herb yoghurt

• Rinse the herbs and dry by rolling in the tea towel.  Chop the herbs with the mezzaluna and put in a medium bowl.  Add the yoghurt, stir to combine, divide between the small serving bowls and set aside.

Fry the sage leaves

• Heat a little oil in the small frying pan and fry the sage leaves until crisp.  Scoop the leaves onto a paper-lined plate, then put them in the oven to keep warm.

Separate the egg

• Crack the egg and separate the yolk from the white.  Put the white in one medium bowl and the white in another medium bowl.

Mix the batter

• Measure the flour and polenta and place them in the large bowl with the salt and bicarbonate of soda.
• Melt the butter in the saucepan over medium heat.
• Add the buttermilk and melted butter to the egg yolk and whisk to combine.
• Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk/egg mixture.  Mix well with the wooden spoon then stir in the sweetcorn.
• With a clean whisk, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form.  Fold the egg whites into the batter.

Cook the fritters

• Add a little oil to the large frying pan and cook tablespoons of fritter mixture over medium heat. Do not over-crowd the pan with too many fritters.  Cook for 3 – 4 minutes, until bubbles form, then flip over and cook on the other side.

Serve the fritters

• Transfer the cooked fritters to the warmed baking tray and return the tray to the oven.  Continue to cook the remaining fritters.
• When all the fritters are ready, arrange on the serving plates with the bowl of herb yoghurt at the centre.  Place a crisp sage leaf on top of each fritter.

Interesting techniques used in this recipe:

• Separating eggs
• Whisking egg whites to form soft peaks
• Making a well in dry ingredients