Pear And Yoghurt Fritters

With Pancake Day coming up next week, I thought I'd share with you this really easy recipe for pear and yoghurt fritters.

They are part pikelet, part fritter and so easy! Using only four ingredients, they are really quick to whip up for an after school snack or a weekend, or even weekday, breakfast.

I used quite a green pear in mine, but if you used one that was really ripe and juicy, you might need to add a little bit more flour to hold it all together. If you have them, a handful of chopped walnuts would be delicious in the mixture too.

I used the five:am coffee bean yoghurt in my fritters, because I love the combination of coffee and pear and this yoghurt is thick and simply divine. Greek yoghurt would be lovely too. Try to avoid a really sweet, low fat flavoured yoghurt, if you can.

Serve them warm with an extra dollop of yoghurt and some fresh fruit for a light breakfast. They are great cold too, so pop some in your lunch box for morning tea!

Pear And Yoghurt Fritters

1 pear, cored and grated

1/2 cup yoghurt 

1/2 cup + 1 Tbs plain flour

1 Tbs caster sugar

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well to combine.

Heat a frying pan and spray with oil spray if you need to.

Dollop rough tablespoons of mixture into the pan and flatten slightly. The mixture will be quite sticky.

Fry on one side until golden brown, then flip to cook the other side. Flatten a little bit to make sure the mixture cooks evenly.

Remove from the pan when cooked.

Serve with a dollop of yoghurt and some fresh fruit or just on their own.

Enjoy!

Roasted Beetroot And Couscous Salad

This week, in typical Melbourne fashion, we've gone from 34 degrees to 20 degrees in the space of a couple of days. Last week I wanted light and fresh meals with minimal cooking and minimal fuss. Frankly, who can be bothered cooking when it's hot?

The last two days, as the weather has cooled down, I've been craving heavier meals. For Meat free Monday, I couldn't go past making a hearty salad with a few of my favourite things. Beautiful fresh asparagus was a given and roasted beetroot is always a favourite. Combined with some corn couscous and a spiced yoghurt dressing, using the lovely MOO Dahi, it was certainly a winner.

I've never used corn couscous before, but picked up a packet from the local shops because they didn't have any of the regular sort available. It was a little heavier than couscous made from semolina, but had a lovely corny smell and taste. I'll certainly be using it again. You can just use regular couscous, or even the larger Israeli couscous balls. Either would still be delicious.

Roasted Beetroot And Couscous Salad

1 large beetroot

A drizzle of olive oil

1 bunch of asparagus, woody ends snapped off

1/2 cup MOO Dahi yoghurt

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

Salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups couscous

A few handfuls of parsley and mint, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Trim the beetroot and peel using a vegetable peeler. Cut into large chunks.

Toss with a drizzle of olive oil on a baking tray and roast for about 30 minutes or until tender when pierced with a skewer.

Remove from the oven and set aside.

Place asparagus spears in a heatproof container and pour over boiling water. 

Allow to sit for 3-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the spears. Drain and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the MOO Dahi yoghurt, lemon juice, cumin and coriander. Season to taste

Prepare the couscous according to packet instructions. 

In a large bowl, combine coucous, beetroot, asparagus and chopped herbs. Season to taste.

Tip onto a platter or serving bowl and drizzle with the yoghurt dressing.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Apple Yoghurt Cake

I don't tend to do a lot of cake baking because no one else in the house really has a sweet tooth, but a trip to the inlaws this morning gave me an excuse to try something different.

Yoghurt goes so well in cakes, because it makes them beautifully moist, so I couldn't wait to come up with a recipe using the lovely MOO Dahi Indian Style Yoghurt.

Sweet cinnamon poached apples and yoghurt are a great combination, so why not make them into a cake?

This cake was lovely and moist and had a beautiful sweetness from the poached apples. A nice surprise to have inside the cake. You could either serve it as is, or warm it up with a dollop of Dahi or even ice cream to turn it into a simple dessert.

If I was you, I'd make up a double batch of the apples so that you have extra to enjoy warmed up with a dollop of Dahi and a sprinkling of nuts or muesli for breakfast!

Cinnamon Apple Yoghurt Cake

4 Granny Smith apples (about 500g)

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

125g butter, softened

3/4 cup caster sugar + 1tsp

2 eggs

1 cup SR flour

1/2 cup plain flour

Up to 1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup MOO Dahi yoghurt + extra to serve

1 tsp icing sugar to dust

Peel, core and coarsely chop apples.

Place in a saucepan with 1/2 cup water, cinnamon and 1 tsp caster sugar.

Bring to a simmer over medium heat and gently poach until the apples are soft, but not falling apart.

Set aside to cool and then drain over a fine sieve.

Reserve the apples and juice for later.

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.

Grease a 20cm round cake tin and dust with flour.

In a mixer, beat butter and sugar until soft and creamy.

Add eggs one at a time and beat well between additions.

Measure out the reserved apple poaching liquid and make up to 1/4 cup with the milk. Combine this with the MOO Dahi yoghurt in a small bowl.

Fold sifted flours and milk/yoghurt mixture into the butter mixture until combined.

Spread half the mixture into prepared cake tin, top with apples and then spread remaining cake mixture over the top.

Bake in oven for 1 hour or until brown on top and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool in tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.

Serve lightly dusted with icing sugar with an extra dollop of MOO Dahi.

Enjoy!

Carrot And Feta Fritters

Over the past few weeks I've seen recipes for fritters popping up all over the internet. It must be a sign!

I've always loved making zucchini fritters and corn fritters are wonderful for breakfast, lunch or dinner! Add a runny poached egg and crispy bacon for a weekend brunch or a herb yoghurt and flatbread or wraps for a light dinner. They really are so versatile.

These carrot and feta fritters were inspired by my fridge contents. I had a bag of carrots, a wedge of creamy Danish feta and a few eggs that needed using up. The coriander in the garden was starting to bolt and so I wanted to use it up too. The end result were these tasty fritters. I served them with chilli coriander yoghurt, a cos lettuce, tomato and capsicum salad and mountain bread. We made them into wraps and gobbled them up in no time. Even the kids loved them, minus the chilli. It's always great when everyone enjoys the same meal.

If you don't like chilli, or are serving this to little ones, just leave out the chilli in the yoghurt. It really is just to taste, so you can add a little or a lot, depending on how hot you like it.

If you have any leftovers, fritters are great reheated for lunch the next day.

Carrot And Feta Fritters With Chilli Coriander Yoghurt

1 large carrot, grated

1/2 cup coriander, finely chopped

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 shallot, finely chopped

1/4 cup plain flour

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup Danish feta, diced

Pepper

A drizzle of oil for frying

1/2 cup natural yoghurt

A pinch of chilli flakes (or to taste)

1 Tbs coriander, finely chopped

In a large bowl, combine the carrot, coriander, eggs, garlic, shallot, flour, milk and feta. Season to taste with pepper. There is enough salt in the feta, so you shouldn't need to add any more.

Heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry 3-4 fritters at a time, depending on the size of your pan. About 1/4 cup mixture makes a good sized fritter.

Fry for 1-2 minutes each side or until golden brown. Flip and cook on the other side.

Remove from pan to a plate and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining mixture.

In a separate bowl, combine the yoghurt, chilli and coriander.

Serve the fritters with the yoghurt and salad and wraps, if you like.

Enjoy!

Crispy Eggplant Fritters

Sometimes I'm inspired about what to cook by recipes I've seen on television or in magazines. Gourmet Traveller is one of my favourites for foodspiration! Other times it's something I've eaten at a restaurant or cafe or a dish I've come across online. Days like today, I'm inspired by the beautiful fresh produce I find at the fruit and veg shop or market. Today I picked up a bag of gorgeous purple and white striped eggplants and knew that I had to create something delicious with them.

What to cook though? Layers of chargrilled eggplant and mince in a cheesy moussaka? Indian eggplant curry? A slow cooked ragout, a la ratatouille? In this case the healthy options lost and the deep fried eggplant fritters won!

I'm usually not a fan of deep frying things, but I couldn't resist. Crispy panko crumbed eggplant slices, cooked until golden brown on the outside and soft and creamy inside. Perfect!

To counteract the oiliness of the deep fried eggplant, I wanted some fresh flavours with a bit of acidity. The herbed yogurt and tomato, rocket and fennel salad matched perfectly. This actually was quite a light meal and the eggplant didn't taste too greasy. My husband was a bit sceptical at first, but ended up loving it. A win for all!

Eggplant Fritters With Herbed Yogurt And Tomato, Fennel and Rocket Salad

2 medium eggplants

1 egg

A dash of milk

Plain flour for coating

Panko breadcrumbs

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil for deep frying

1 cup natural yogurt

A handful each of parsley and mint leaves

2 tomatoes, diced

1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced

A handful of rocket leaves

A drizzle of balsamic vinegar

Cut the stalk end off each eggplant and then slice lengthways into roughly 1cm slices.

Place on a tray and generously sprinkle both sides with salt.

Leave for 30 minutes to release the bitter juices and then rinse well. Pat dry with paper towel.

To crumb the fillets, prepare three bowls, one with plain flour, one with panko crumbs and one with the egg and milk lightly whisked and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Dip each eggplant slice into flour, egg wash and then crumbs. Set aside on a tray until all pieces have been crumbed.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Por oil into a medium sized saucepan until it is about 4-5cm deep.

Heat over medium heat until a few pieces of the panko crumbs start to sizzle as soon as they are added. The oil is now hot enough.

Two pieces at a time, fry eggplant for about 1 minute each side, or until crumbs are golden brown.

Carefully remove with a slotted spoon and place on a baking tray covered with paper towel.

Repeat with remaining eggplant slices, making sure they are in a single layer on the tray.

When all pieces have been fried, place the whole tray in the oven for another 5 minutes to really crisp up.

To make the yoghurt, finely chop the herbs and add to the natural yoghurt. Season to taste.

To make the salad, combine diced tomato, sliced fennel and rocket leaves in a bowl. Season to taste.

Drizzle with balsamic vinegar to your liking. You don't need any oil in this dressing as the eggplant is oily enough.

To serve, place eggplant fritters on a plate, dollop herbed yoghurt around the outside and place a mound of the salad on top.

Enjoy!