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These courgette and sweetcorn fritters are simply divine. Crisp on the outside and soft and tender on the inside. Using fresh courgette (zucchini) and sweetcorn and flavoured with a little parsley and chilli, they are healthy, nutritious and tasty.
What are they?
While traditionally a fritter is meat, veg or fruit which is battered or breadcrumbed and then fried, these fritters are a little lighter. The courgette and sweetcorn is tossed in a light mixture of egg, flour and breadcrumbs. This helps everything bind together without completely coating them and adding extra stodge.
Why do my fritters come out soggy?
There are a few things you can do to make sure you get gloriously crispy outsides on your fritters, every time:
- Don’t skip the steps to remove the moisture from the veg – If your fritters are too moist then you have no chance of making them crisp. Even if then you fry them at a super-high heat, the excess water will cause them to boil rather than sear on the surface.
- Make sure your pan is hot, but not too hot– you want the fritters to start sizzling and cooking as soon as they hit the pan, otherwise they will start to soak up the oil which will make them softer. But you also don’t want the heat to be too high so that they burn on the surface before being cooked through. Medium to medium-high heat is good.
- Spoon the batter into the pan, and then leave alone it for 2-3 minutes – the batter needs to be left for enough time to get a nice golden crust. If you turn the fritters too quickly then the surface won’t have enough time to form that crispy exterior.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan – any overlap will result in sad, soggy bits of fritter that don’t cook properly. Also, If the fritters are too close together then the heat around their edges will be lowered. Give each fritter a good centimetre (0.4 inches) or so of space between them.
What can I serve them with?
The great thing about these fritters is that you can serve them for pretty much any meal of the day!
For a hearty breakfast, brunch or lunch, I love to serve these with a poached egg and a side of tomato chutney. A few salad leaves also help to spruce the plate up. (see pictures for this serving suggestion).
You can also serve these as a snack or starter/appetiser. Add a dipping sauce such as this fresh, homemade yogurt tzatziki for a healthy yet tasty nibble.
If you want to make these into more of a meal for dinner, then you can add a few sides of vegetables. This grilled asparagus with balsamic red onion is great, as is roasted tenderstem broccoli or a plate of roasted tomatoes and leeks.
Can I freeze them?
If you are planning ahead then it is better to freeze the uncooked fritter batter, rather than keep cooked fritters. They will lose their crispiness if chilled or frozen and reheated. However, you can retain some of the crispness by making sure to always reheat them in a hot frying pan/skillet on the hob/stove, rather than in the oven or microwave.
The uncooked batter can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days or 3 months in the freezer. I like to split the batter into freezer bags of individual portions so you can easily grab a helping for a quick meal when short on time
To freeze cooked fritters, stack them with a layer of baking/parchment paper in between each to stop them from sticking together. Carefully place them in a freezer bag or sealed container and then place them in the freezer so that they aren’t squashed by anything.
Can I bake them in the oven?
These are definitely at their best when pan-fried, which helps make them crispy, however, you can bake them in the oven if you want to remove the oil from the recipe. They will need around 20 minutes at 200C/400F and turning halfway through.
Ingredients
For a full list of ingredients with weights and measurements jump to the printable recipe card.
- Courgette/zucchini
- Cooked sweetcorn – you can either cook your own fresh corn and remove the kernels or use frozen or tinned corn. thaw frozen corn before using.
- Breadcrumbs – dried work best as they have less moisture
- Chilli flakes – substitute for sweet paprika or dried herbs if you don’t like any spice. Alternatively add some freshly chopped chilli if you want more heat
- Spring onion/scallion, sliced
- Egg, beaten
- Chopped fresh parsley
How to make them
For full, detailed instructions jump to the printable recipe card.
- Grate the courgette and combine in a sieve or colander with the sweetcorn. Salt heavily and leave to drain for 20 minutes.
- Transfer the courgette and sweetcorn to a tea towel and wrap to wring out any further moisture.
- Mix in a large bowl with all the remaining ingredients excluding the olive oil.
- Add spoonful’s of the mixture to the oil in a hot frying pan and fry until golden on both sides.
- Serve with a poached egg or this tomato chutney. Tzatziki goes exceptionally well too!
Looking for more ways to use courgettes? Try:
Products that work well for this recipe:
Magnetic Spice Rack – Set of 12
Joseph Joseph Fold Flat Grater
Beeswax Food Wraps
Courgette and Sweetcorn Fritters
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These courgette and sweetcorn fritters are simply divine. Crisp on the outside and soft and tender on the inside they are healthy, nutritious and tasty.
The default recipe makes 2 portions (of 2 fritters per portion)
Ingredients
- 200g / 7oz courgette (zucchini)
- 100g / 3.5oz cooked, drained sweetcorn (frozen or tinned are fine)
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp breadcrumbs
- pinch chilli flakes (see note 1)
- 1 small spring onion/scallion, sliced
- 1 large egg, beaten
- small handful chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Grate the courgette with a grater and then add to a large sieve or colander along with the sweetcorn. Season very well with salt and then leave over a sink or bowl for 20-30 minutes to drain. (see note 2,3)
- After 30 minutes use your hands to press out as much of the liquid from the courgette and sweetcorn as possible.
- Place the courgette and sweetcorn into the middle of a clean tea towel and roll it up very tightly. Leave for 10-15 minutes to soak up more of the moisture from the veg.
- Tip the courgette and sweetcorn into a large bowl and mix in the flour, baking powder, breadcrumbs, chilli flakes, spring onion, parsley and egg. Season and mix together. (see note 4)
- Add the olive oil to a frying pan/skillet over medium heat. Once hot, spoon the fritter mixture into equal-sized dollops in the pan and press down with a spatula to flatten. Cook for around 4-5 minutes before flipping and cooking for a further 4-5 minutes on the other side.
- Serve with a poached egg, some tzatziki or a generous spoonful of this tomato chutney.
Notes
- If you don’t like spice then you can skip the chilli flakes, or substitute with sweet paprika or some dried herbs. Alternatively if you are a fan of the heat you can add some chopped fresh chilli.
- Removing as much moisture as possible from the courgette is critical to ensure you don’t have mushy fritters which fall apart in the pan – don’t be tempted to skip steps!
- Don’t worry about adding too much salt to the colander when draining the courgette. Most of it will dissolve as it draws the liquid out of the vegetable and will drain off with the water.
- The fritter mixture can be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost for 4-6 hours in the fridge before using.
- You can also freeze full fritters. Place between sheets of baking/parchment paper to stop them from sticking together. Reheat in a pan to crisp them back up.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minute
- Category: Lunch
- Method: Hob / Stove
- Cuisine: Vegetables
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 205
- Fat: 11g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Protein: 7g
Keywords: fritters, vegetarian, courgette, sweetcorn, healthy, light
