Vegetarian mains
Green bean, herb and sheep's cheese fritters with sweet chilli sauce
These fritters have a really fresh taste from the dill and mint. The sheep's cheese has a soft, creamy texture, and the crème fraîche is made by our dairy.
Cook's notes
Cook in batches if you need to; don't crowd the pan. They can be kept warm in a low oven while you finish the rest. If you make these again, you can use any bean, shredded and blanched greens, or grated carrots. We're serving ours with mixed salad leaves tossed with some alfalfa sprouts and toasted pumpkin seeds for extra nutrients and a little crunch.
Ingredients
- 250g green beans
- 10g fresh mint
- 15g fresh dill
- 50g salad leaves
- good handful alfalfa sprouts
- 25g pumpkin seeds
- 100g self-raising flour
- 1 egg
- ½ pot crème fraîche
- 1 Sussex Slipcote sheep's cheese
- oil for frying e.g. sunflower or light olive
- pot sweet chilli sauce
- salt and pepper
Method
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Step 1
Put a large pan of water on to boil. While the water heats up, wash and finely slice the green beans at an angle, about 1cm slices. Wash the mint, dill, salad leaves and a good handful of alfalfa sprouts (keep them all separate!).
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Step 2
Once the pan comes to the boil, cook the beans for 2-3 minutes until just tender, then drain into a colander and run under cold water to cool them. Put the pumpkin seeds in a dry, non-stick frying pan. Heat them gently for 1 minute, stirring them often, until lightly toasted. Transfer them to a small bowl or plate. Put your oven on a low heat 150°C/Gas Mark 2.
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Step 3
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, egg, half the pot of crème fraîche and 1 good tablespoon of cold water. Crumble in the Sussex Slipcote cheese. Add the beans. Finely shred the mint leaves and chop the dill. Add both to the bowl. Season with salt and pepper and gently mix it all together.
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Step 4
Heat a layer of oil in a large frying pan. Add large spoonfuls of the mixture to the frying pan, cooking in 2 batches. The batter should make 8-12 fritters in total, 4-6 per batch, depending how big your dollops are! Cook on a low to medium heat for about 3 minutes, until golden brown on the bottom (small bubbles will start to appear from underneath when they're almost ready).
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Step 5
Carefully turn the fritters over and cook for about 3 minutes or so on the other side, until cooked through. Keep warm on a baking tray in the oven while you make the next batch. Toss the salad leaves, alfalfa and pumpkin seeds. Serve with the fritters and sweet chilli sauce for dipping.