Pete Evans’ Pumpkin, Sage and Parmesan Fritters

A few weeks ago I catered the Gordon Rugby Ladies Day which you can read about here.. Anyway, the day before the event I was going through my final food list and realised that I had only one vegetarian dish prepared.  I have to admit that as a committed carnivore I can sometimes forget about catering for non carnivores (I’m sorry everyone else… naughty Steph!). I was already pressed for time and needed to find a recipe that would impress the guests and would be quick and easy to prepare.  Without thinking twice I picked up My Party by Pete Evans.

About My Party:

As best-selling author and chef Pete Evans will tell you, he loves a party and whether it’s a supper club, high tea or get-together by the pool, this book makes the job of hosting a cocktail party as easy as choosing a theme. Pair succulent seared scallops with a decadent mai tai, strawberry shortcake with a classic champagne cocktail or enjoy Peking duck pancakes alongside tangy lychee martinis.  My Party offers the ultimate selection of canapés and perfect cocktails to match.

I’ve had this book for a while and everything I have made from the book so far has been fantastic. I started flicking through the pages and soon stopped when I came across the Pumpkin, Sage and Parmesan Fritters recipe.  This recipe was perfect. The instructions were simple, I didn’t need a thousand different ingredients, they were bite sized pieces AND I was cooking with sage which is one of my favourite herbs to work with.

Unfortunately the rest of my cooking took longer than I had expected and I didn’t get around to making the Caramelised Onion Creme Fraiche dip, so I served the fritters with a chipotle dip I picked up from a gourmet green grocer.  The fritters were served at room temperature and within minutes of serving the large pile of fritters was rapidly shrinking.

My Party by Pete Evans

INGREDIENTS

For the fritters

125g desiree potatoes

75g onion, thinly sliced

200g raw grated pumpkin

3 1/2 tbs finely chopped sage

35g grated Grana Padano (which is a parmesan. You should be able to find this in your supermarket)

1 free-range egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp sea salt

70g cornflour

1 tsp vegetable oil

cottonseed oil, for frying

1 small handful sage leaves

For the Caramelised Onion Creme Fraiche dip

2 large brown onions, finely sliced

2 tsps balsamic vinegar

200g creme fraiche

50 ml double cream

METHOD:

For the Caramelised Onion Creme Fraiche dip

To make the caramelised onion creme fraiche, saute the onion in a frying pan over low-medium heat in a touch of oil until soft and caramelised.  Add the balsamic vinegar then remove from the heat and cool completely.  Combine with the creme fraiche and double cream and season with salt.

For the Fritters

Cook the whole potato in a saucepan of cold salted water, simmer until just tender and then allow to cool slightly. Peel the potato while still warm and then coarsely grate.

Sweat the onion (sweating onions is cooking them on low heat in a covered pan with a little bit of oil or butter. The objective in sweating onions is to soften them but not brown them) with a pinch of salt and a touch of oil in a pan over low heat until soft and translucent. Place in a bowl with the potato, pumpkin, chopped sage, Grana Padano, egg, sea salt, cornflour and vegetable oil and mix until combined. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Heat some cottonseed oil in a wok or deep saucepan to 150 degrees. Deep-fry the sage leaves in batches until crisp.  Drain on kitchen paper.

Cook the fritters in batches, spooning tablespoons of the mixture into the oil and cooking for 5-6 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and serve with the crisp sage and caramelised onion creme fraiche.

Pete Evans' Pumpkin, Sage and Parmesan Fritters on the left, my attempt on the right

To buy My Party or check out the rest of Pete’s range visit Pete’s shop http://www.peteevansshop.com/

What’s your favourite vegetarian dish?