I’ve got so much kale growing at the allotment. Both curly kale and Cavolo Nero. I love them both, and I believe they both have their place in particular dishes. These fritters, however, will benefit from any type of kale you grow or can buy in the shops. Alternatively, if you don’t have kale you could use other green leafy vegetables such as cabbage, spinach, Swiss Chard or spring greens.
I also use frozen peas and edamame beans. Much cheaper and handy as they are kept in the freezer ready for use whenever you want. Frozen vegetables can also often have higher nutrient content as they are picked at their peak and then frozen within hours, locking in nutrients that may be lost otherwise.
If you need to make gluten-free fritters, use gram flour or rice flour instead of wholemeal flour. I use wholemeal because it helps with the fibre content of the fritters, but also is something I keep in the cupboard as a staple. The flour’s role in the fritters is just to help bind them together. When I didn’t add the flour in during recipe testing they fritters were extremely fragile and would easily fall apart. While they tasted great, I thought they were too difficult to handle.
These fritters are delicious simply served with a wedge of lemon and some salad leaves of choice. Serving with the lemon after cooking adds vitamin C which can help your absorb the plant-based iron from the beans and kale. You could add any other toppings of your choice such as a poached egg to make the perfect brunch, or top with hummus, guacamole, soured cream or your favourite sauce.
Makes 8 fritters
Ingredients
- 150g kale, finely sliced
- 75g frozen peas, defrosted
- 75g frozen edamame beans, defrosted
- 250g ricotta
- 3 large eggs
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 8-10 mint leaves, finely sliced
- 15g parsley, finely sliced
- 1/2 a nutmeg, grated
- 30g wholemeal flour, or if making gluten-free gram flour or rice flour
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
To serve
- Salad leaves of choice
- Lemon wedges
- Poached egg (optional)
Method
- Place the sliced kale into a large bowl. Boil the kettle and pour over the kale to blanch for 30 seconds before draining and running under cold water to maintain the bright green colouring. Drain as much water from the kale.
- In a separate large bowl add the peas and edamame beans and crush before adding all the remaining ingredients except the flour.
- Add the kale and mix to distribute throughout the batter. Add the flour and mix.
- Preheat large frying pan and heat over a medium heat with 1 tsp oil.
- Take a heaped spoonful of batter and place into the pan to form a fritter. Cook in batches for 2-3 minutes per side till golden brown.
- Serve the fritters with fresh pea shoots and lemon wedge, and optional top with a poached egg.
Per 2 fritters: 232kcal/ 13.7g fat/ 5.0g saturated fat/ 10.9g carbohydrates/ 4.1g fibre/ 15.5g protein
Dr Pippa 