One of my goals for this year is to eat less meat and many more veggies. I do struggle with this, because I do love meat, but I am determined! Often to the frustration of the mega-meat eaters in this household!
Consequently it’s quite rare that we actually have Meatless Monday. It’s usually Meatless-any-night-but-Monday. Harder to predict that way [insert evil cackle].
This dish was inspired by JJ, my friend and fellow food blogger [over at 84th & 3rd]. JJ frequently posts beautiful photos of corn fritters, and every time she does I tell her I will be making them. So finally I am!
What I love about this dish is its flexibility. I’ve added leek [because they were languishing in the veggie crisper], but you could easily add mushrooms, capsicums, red onion or zucchini [which I had intended to add until I realised there were none in the fridge!] instead. I’m fairly sure hubby wishes I’d added some bacon as he isn’t a huge fan of meatless meals. But he is getting used to them. Or he will do…
What you need
- 2-3 leeks, washed and sliced
- splash of olive oil
- 420g can of corn, drained
- 250g ricotta
- 30-40g parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 egg
- 1 tbs flour
- bit of basil, shredded
- pepper to taste
- splash of tabasco [optional, but I add it to most things]
What you do
- Gently fry the leeks in the olive oil on a low-ish heat until softened. This only took about 2-3 minutes.
- In a large-ish bowl add the corn, ricotta, cooked leeks, parmesan, egg, flour, basil, pepper and tabasco if using. I deliberately didn't add salt as I find parmesan quite salty, but you might want a bit. Mix well.
- Heat a non-stick frypan [or a bit of oil in a sticky-pan] to medium hot. I use a non-stick teppanyaki plate that is part of my stove. THE best thing ever!
- When hot, blob on spoonfuls of fritter. I was quite generous and this made 9 fritters [but one was quite small]. Cook until it's brown [4-5 minutes], then carefully flip over [I used two spatulas for this] to cook the other side. You might need to turn the heat down if they are thick, so they cook through without burning.
Notes
I served this with my favourite Mexican bean and corn salad as I had leftovers from the weekend [it's basically black beans, corn, tomato, red onion, red capsucim, coriander, lime juice, tabasco]. You could serve it with any salad or with steamed veg.
I’ll be having a leftover fritter or two for breakfast tomorrow with an egg. And maybe a bit of bacon. YUM!
I’m always seeking meatless meal inspiration – please, please share your favourites.
Yay for fritters! Love the addition of the ricotta, they sound great 🙂
Sounds yummy Mel! I love corn fritters but I’ve never made them with ricotta before.
I have a similar issue with meat reduction and have tried meat-free Mondays in the past and enjoyed success for a little while at least before the whingeing set in. I do always get the disappointed “where’s the meat?” look too and the suggestion of that lovely “vegetable” called bacon.
Yum, love love love fritters. Love how they do breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack, too. Love 😉
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I love your style of writing and your blog. These ricotta fritters sound amazing and the family can try them tonight. Your green smoothie is a great idea too, I have never thought to make enough to last all day. Meat free meals – red lentil and vegetable curry with rice, home made tortillas and potato and pea samosas fit the bill nicely 😀