VEGETARIAN FOOD BLOG: SPINACH, RICOTTA AND RICE FRITTERS

Before we go any further with this fritter and patty party, an explanation of what defines each is useful.

Fritter mixture is wet. Sloppy. You can't use your hands to form balls with fritter batter. Imagine a very thick pancake batter, with vegetables and stuff bulking it out.

Patty mixture can still be quite moist. But importantly, you can use wet hands to form large round balls. You place them on a large plate, flatten them slightly, and place in fridge or freezer to firm-up before frying. Being cold keeps the patty in one piece when you fry it, especially when you flip it.

If you've only just stumbled across Billie Bites, here's some background: Billie grew a little fussy. On return from holiday we embarked on a fritter and patty frenzy. Suddenly, vegetables are back in her diet.

She loves cooking, and fritters and patties are perfect toddler fodder. Yes it does involve hot oil, so here's where I insert a disclaimer. However, Billie is very clear that pans on the stove are hot. We've never had any problems or any near-misses. I do of course watch her at all times around hot oil. Hey, those master chef kids had to start somewhere.

This is from the fritter camp. Next up, we'll demonstrate the difference with a patty recipe.

These numbers were a HUGE hit. Billie ate plate-loads. And she was a fabulous sous chef.

SPINACH, RICOTTA AND RICE FRITTERS


2/3 cup brown rice (makes 1 1/4 cooked rice, and can be prepared ahead)
Large bunch of English spinach 
1/2 cup grated cheddar
600g fresh ricotta (if at all possible, use the really fresh, firm stuff)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
freshly ground black pepper
just a little bit of salt
freshly grated nutmeg, or 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
handful fresh oregano (or basil, parsley if oregano not around)


Place rice in small pot with double the amount of cold water. Bring to boil with lid on, then turn right down to low and simmer with lid on until water absorbed. Don't stir, just lift lid occasionally and it will be obvious when water almost gone. Turn off and leave lid on for few minutes. Remove rice from pot and place in large bowl to cool.


Meanwhile, pick spinach leaves and wash. Drain, leaving a little water on the leaves. Place in large pot with lid, on medium heat. After a minute shake pot. After another minute lift lid and give quick stir. When just wilted, remove and chop spinach.


Add salt and pepper, nutmeg, spinach, cheddar and herbs to rice. Next add eggs, then ricotta. 


Heat a large heavy fry pan on medium with couple of spoons of oil - olive, rice bran or coconut are best. Once hot, turn down to low and dollop tablespoons of mixture into pan. The smaller the fritters, the quicker to cook. But if they are larger they will soak up a bit less oil. So depending on your priorities...With this recipe I found smaller to be better as the mixture is a slow cooker. 


Flipping rules: Avoid multiple flips. This encourages breakage. Instead gently try the edges with your flipper, and if it comes away easily and does not look about to break into pieces, your fritter is ready to be turned. Flip when solid. Patience is a virtue with these fritters, they don't like to be rushed.


Place on a large plate lined with newspaper to soak up any excess oil and serve as are. No sauce or chutney needed. (Yes, newspaper really works just as well as paper towels. But if you don't have newspaper lying around your kitchen because you read everything online, you may have to go out and buy paper towels.)


Where's the picture? Billie scoffed them all before I could reach for the camera.

VEGETARIAN FOOD BLOG: HUNZA PIE

Hunza Pie

I can't believe this recipe is not already here. It's such a stable, I assumed it had long ago joined the Billie Bites collection.

Searching it for the other day to remind myself of the quantities, I discovered the poor hunza pie had been overlooked.

This is reminiscent of my very popular Spinach Torte - definitely an established part of the Billie Bites scenery. The key differences are: The Hunza has pastry, silver beet, brown rice and cheddar. The Torte has arborio rice, Parmesan and no pastry.

Great straight from the oven. Best after it's cooled a little. Tasty cold the next day. Especially outside on a park bench overlooking the ocean.

This is adapted from a recipe by Steve Manfredi, published in the Sydney Morning Herald.

HUNZA PIE

220g wholemeal flour

110g cold salted butter

cold water

1/2 cup brown rice

Bunch silver beet

butter

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

salt and pepper

nutmeg

Place rice in small pot with 1 cup water. Bring to boil with lid on and then turn right down. Simmer until water absorbed - takes about 30 minutes total. Don't stir at all while cooking. Instead tip pot on angle to see how much water is left. Once done tip into large bowl to cool.

Meanwhile, make the pastry. If you have a food processor, place flour in food processor and drop lumps of butter in one at a time while pulsing. Once the mixture looks crumbly, gradually add a tablespoon or three of water while processing, until the mixture forms a ball.  If sans food processor, simply place flour and butter in bowl and use a knife to combine. Add the water gradually and finally use hands to knead into a ball. Wrap in cling film and place in fridge for 20-30 mins.

Preheat oven to medium high. 

Wash silver beet - keeping most of the stems. Place a chunk of butter in a large pot with the silver beet. Cook over medium-high heat for about five minutes. Shake the pot regularly and stir occasionally. Once fairly well wilted remove and cool on chopping board, before slicing up and adding to rice.

Roll out pastry on a floured bench and use it to line a well-greased flan tin. I use a ceramic one. Any pie dish will do though. Prick centre with a fork and place in oven to lightly cook the pastry shell - about ten minutes is enough.

Combine eggs and cheese with rice and silver beet. Salt and pepper to taste. Add grated nutmeg - a few pinches.

Pour into pastry shell and bake for about 25 minutes, until cooked through and crispy on top.

VEGETARIAN BLOG: CORN FRITTERS FOR AUNTIE MILLICENT

Corn fritters have already populated these pages. However, it's worth giving this version a whirl as they went down extremely well in our household.

 Not only Billie but also her dear Auntie Millicent scoffed back a stack. Millicent is now back in Chicago and wants the recipe so she can press replay.

Corn fritter recipes usually call for canned creamed corn. I prefer to stick with fresh, but it can be tricky to get the wet/dry ingredient ratio right. I think I succeeded perfectly here:

RECIPE: CORN FRITTERS FOR AUNTIE MILLICENT

4-5 corn cobs (raw)

2 cups flour

2.5 teaspoons of baking powder

salt and pepper

6 eggs

large handful each of parsley and oregano, chopped fairly finely

3/4 cup milk

oil

First slice the corn kernels off the cobs. The easiest way to do this is to place the cob horizontally on a chopping board and use a large knife to slice them off. Don't cook the corn before adding to fritter mixture.

Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl. Add milk, corn, herbs salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl and create a well in the centre. Pour rest of ingredients in and stir until combined.

Place a tablespoon of oil into a large heavy frying pan and heat on medium. Once hot drop two tablespoons of mixture into pan (to form one fritter) and repeat until pan full. Leave a few centimetres between so you can easily flip them. Turn once bubbles appearing all over. The other side won't need so long. Cook until lightly browned and place between paper towels on a plate. Eat as soon as possible.

Serve with a green salad and chutney or sweet chili sauce. 

Grandma Lenore, Auntie Millicent, Miles, Billie and Puppy Dog head to Manly

RICOTTA, CORN AND COURGETTE FRITTERS

TRICK: Fritters re-heat very well in the oven ready to be served as tasty party finger food.
TRICK 2: Fritters offer a great place to hide greens from toddlers who deem them uncool.


Fritters have made appearances in various guises on these pages, even corn fritters. When Billie was a baby I made lots of simple vegetarian fritters. But each time I get in a fritter mood I experiment with texture and substance - to flour or not to flour, to baking powder or not, and so on.

This particular model was a roaring success with Billie but also was very well received at a work do last night to farewell our colleague Ronan. I had pre-party jitters about how the  re-heating would go. But no fear - ten minutes in the oven on a tray left them perfectly light and crispy.

RICOTTA, CORN AND COURGETTE FRITTERS

4 corn cobs, lightly steamed

4 spring onions, finely chopped

3 courgettes/zucchini, grated

1/4 cup fresh coriander/cilantro chopped (optional)

4 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups fresh ricotta (preferably the solid, firm kind - but if it's runny just cut back on the milk)

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon baking powder

2/3 cup plain flour

generous grindings of salt and black pepper

oil

Allow cobs to cool for a few minutes before removing corn - lay cobs down horizontally on chopping board and use large knife to slice off. This prevents the corn covering your kitchen floor.

Combine corn with spring onions, coriander, courgettes and flour and baking powder. In a smaller bowl combine milk and ricotta with beaten eggs, then pour into the large bowl with rest of fritter ingredients.

Heat about one tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. I used rice bran oil as it heats to high temperatures and doesn't have any flavour, but olive oil works too. Once pan is hot, drop tablespoon lots of batter into pan (don't crowd in pan and keep them small - they cook quicker and look more appetising).

Cook until lightly browned on both sides, flipping once. Keep heat to medium so they cook through without burning. Remove first batch onto plate lined with paper towel, and repeat until mixture used up.

While these re-heat in the oven very well, you can keep the mixture in a sealed container in the fridge for a few days and impress your friends and family with fritters and eggs for brunch, fritters on the side of their chili beans, fritter sandwiches, etc.

And a very Happy Birthday to my father...

BEETROOT AND FETA RICE CAKES

Where there are risks there are often rewards - and the kitchen is no exception.

This was one of those creations where going into the oven a few deep breaths were taken. And there was no opportunity to taste test when they were removed - the pink and white savories had to be immediately bundled into a container and whisked into the stroller for a run to the train at Bondi Junction.

Thankfully they were the hit of the picnic. Until we got to dessert. Well, there were only three of us, counting Billie, so I confess there wasn't much competition. But Jodie is a fine cook with fine tastes, so her opinion is probably worth five.

Now you might say, well you've done rice cakes before (pumpkin), and beetroot and feta are such good team mates that there's hardly a surprise that this concoction worked. All true. But still, these tasty and nutritious vegetarian picnic fodder don't just work. They are fabulous.

A NOTE ON RICE CAKES: I have had a couple of complaints from readers who made the pumpkin rice cakes a few months back - yes, they got stuck in the tin. 

 Well, I am very happy to share with you all my recent innovation for cooking all things involving muffin tins: baking paper. 

Simply cut small squares/rectangles of paper and line muffin tins. Lightly oil tins first so paper sticks. Will look messy and have lots of folds and creases, but the muffins/rice cakes come out easy as pie, and your tins are left clean as a baby's bottom. And you avoid soaking up chemicals from the Teflon coating.

BEETROOT AND FETA RICE CAKES

Bunch baby beetroots - about 4-5, or 2-3 regular beets

1 cup arborio rice, or other Italian

1 block feta, chopped into small pieces

5 eggs

handful fresh oregano, finely chopped (optional)

salt and pepper

butter

First prepare beets: Wash and cut leaves off but make sure you leave some of the stalk on, and all of the tail. This prevents the juice leaking during cooking. The best was to cook beets is in a pressure cooker - half cover beets with water and cook for 20 minutes once at pressure. Otherwise steam them, or roast in oven until very tender. Remove and set aside to cool for few minutes. Gently remove skins by slicing off stem ends and tails - the skin should then slip off easily. Chop into small pieces, about one inch.

 Meanwhile, place rice in small pot filled with water and a dash or two of salt. Bring to a simmer and cook with lid off for a further 10-12 minutes, or until just soft to the bite. Strain and stir through a knob of butter.

Heat oven to medium-hot. Prepare muffin tins as above. Chop feta into tiny cubes. Beat eggs in large bowl and add rice, oregano, feta and freshly ground pepper. Gently stir through beets. Spoon into muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Remove from tins by holding onto corners of baking paper - another reason not to bother with perfect circles - and place on wire rack to cool briefly. Serve hot, or luke warm at a picnic in the park. Cold will pass too, Billie assures me after she ate one later for dinner on Saturday.

BABIES 6 MONTHS AND OLDER: Set aside some cooked beetroot and rice and blend.

BABIES  9 MONTHS AND OLDER: Serve chunks of beetroot and feta, or rice cakes as is.

TODDLERS ONE YEAR AND OLDER: Serve beetroot and feta rice cakes as they come.

Our Botanic Gardens picnic was a special event - Billie's first outing of a dress complete with matching hat and HANDBAG given to her by Jodie when she was just one week old. Don't you wish you had such an outfit...

I had been delaying introducing the handbag but Billie has independently developed a love of all things handbag-like, to the point where we were concerned she would strangle herself wrapping the long straps around her neck. So out came her own little bag with its much shorter strap.

But Jodie turned up with another present for Billie - this time a hungry caterpillar bag. Of course the pretty ribbon wrapping was the instant hit.

HIDING THE VEGETABLES - ASPARAGUS AND PUMPKIN RICE CAKES

Apparently you're not supposed to 'hide' vegetables from fussy toddlers. Well, how about just offering them mixed into plenty of carbohydrates and cheese?

Asparagus and Pumpkin Rice Cakes

 Billie wasn't fooled anyway, or perhaps she just chose not to dig into these today. Maybe tomorrow.


Our one-year-old has dropped her all-devouring love of vegetables and began toddling down the path to fussy-dom. My idealistic plans to not tolerate a fussy eater don't work when you're dealing with a little person that can't speak, let alone reason.

Pumpkin and spinach have so far remained firmly on Billie's menu, so I was a little taken-aback when the chunks of roast pumpkin landed on the floor, with a smirk. Especially since she devoured a similar dish only a few weeks back.

I made these for lunch today, served with a spinach and tomato salad dressed with balsamic and olive oil. When dinner-time came round Billie did manage to get half of one of these tasty vegetarian cakes down, so this recipe still earns an entry.

And anything with asparagus is worth making during spring.

ASPARAGUS AND PUMPKIN RICE CAKES

1 cup rice (I used brown but any will do)

1/4 pumpkin

1 bunch asparagus

4 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup grated cheddar

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

salt and pepper

fine dry bread crumbs

olive oil

Place rice with 2 cups cold water in pot on high with lid on. Bring to boil and then reduce heat and simmer on very low with lid on until water evaporated. Don't stir - you will be able to see/hear when water gone.

Chop pumpkin into small bite-sized chunks and rub with olive oil. Roast in hot oven until soft and crispy.

Oil 12 muffin tins and line with breadcrumbs. 

Chop asparagus into small chunks and steam lightly with little water and butter. Remove from pot.

Whisk eggs lightly with milk and freshly ground black pepper. Stir through grated cheese, rice and pumpkin and asparagus. Check seasoning and spoon into muffin tins. Bake in hot oven for 25-35 mins.

Leave in tins for 5 minutes. Remove and cool on wire rack. Eat warm or refrigerate for later.

BABIES 6 MONTHS AND OLDER: Depending on where you're at, reserve some cooked pumpkin chunks and some asparagus. Blend for younger baby or offer as finger food for older baby.

Foul with Fresh Eggs from the Backyard Fowl

Foul/Ful with poached eggs

I'm pleased Billie's first encounters with chickens has been watching them peck around friends' backyards. At least she won't be shocked when she finds out where the white fleshy stuff on others' plates comes from. Her dadda loves to recount the story of freaking out his nephew in Chicago many moons ago, when Miles informed young Justin of the roots of the food on his plate. Justin promptly ran off and told his mama Millicent that uncle Miles was telling tales.

Keeping a few chooks in your Sydney backyard has become popular with the rise of rent-a-chook schemes. A New Zealand newspaper recently proclaimed it as 'the new black'.

Unfortunately our landlord won't let us keep chooks in the shared hallway, so we have to make do with visits to Toni and Tim's Petersham chicken coop and Miream and Chris' Kingsford egg-layers.

Of course the best thing about having chickens roaming your yard is the constant supply of fresh, organic eggs on your back-doorstep. It's more than one family can get through, even if you eat frittata every day. Yesterday Miream sent us home from brunch clutching half a dozen spare eggs.

And what a brunch it was. Miream's Palestinian-Canadian mother is a chef in Toronto. We feasted on her fodder in December when she came out to cook for Miream and Chris' wedding. She was there to bless the couple too but her kitchen skills came in very handy.

Miream re-produces her ma's foul medammas

Yesterday Miream produced her mother's Foul adaptation and served it with fresh poached eggs and toast. Unfortunately for me, Miream is one of these cooks who doesn't measure or write recipes down. I did my best to transcribe her mum's special Foul. It's pronounced 'fool'.

MIREAM'S FOUL MEDAMMAS

Fava beans - Miream used 2 tins or you could soak and boil 2 cups dried fava

1/2 lemon, juiced

green chilli -mild (depending on who serving to)

about 4 fresh tomatoes

1-2 cloves garlic, crushed 

bunch of parsley, finely chopped

1 green and 1 red pepper/capsicum, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil to pour on top at end

Mash beans and heat up in small pot with garlic, lemon, chilli. Blend and then stir through chopped vegetables. Serve warm with toast and poached eggs.

From wikipedia:
Ful medammas (Arabic: فول مدمس‎ fūl mudammas), also known as foul medammas, is a Middle Eastern dish of cooked and mashed fava beans served with olive oil, chopped parsley, onion, garlic and lemon juice. It is often served for breakfast.

And yes, Billie enjoyed it spread on toast. It's beans, after all. There's something very cool about chomping on poached eggs while the chickens peck under your feet.

FRITTER MAD- SPINACH AND COTTAGE CHEESE

Did I mention how much Billie loves fritters? Well, we're onto a winner so now it's all about creating new ways to turn vegetables and other healthy ingredients into the fritter form. I was very happy with the immediate success of these little invented numbers. Billie scoffed four in one sitting.

Spinach and various forms of cheese are high on my priority list. Throw in some eggs, herbs etc and a bit of flour...and a tasty vegetarian lunch or dinner you have.

Now that we're almost fully into the 'self-feed' scenario - thankfully Billie still lets me spoon-feed her brown rice and date porridge - I'm on a mission to create items easily handled by baby hands and mouths.

SPINACH AND COTTAGE CHEESE FRITTERS

1 bag/large bunch English spinach, washed
1 cup cottage cheese (look for a variety with low salt and minimum ingredients)
1/2 cup grated cheddar
1-2 spring onions, finely chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 eggs, whisked with fork
1/2 cup wholemeal flour
handful fresh basil, chopped or torn
black pepper
olive oil for frying

Cook spinach in large pot with just the water left on the leaves from washing and 1 T butter in bottom of pan. Cook on medium for few minutes, shaking pot frequently and stirring once. Remove immediately and cool before chopping. Use liquid left in pot in fritters (don't wanna waste that goodness).

Saute spring onion and garlic lightly in oil. Add to spinach, with whisked eggs, cheeses, flour, herbs and seasonings. Add little bit of salt if necessary. Mixture should be wet, but eggs will hold it together.

Heat generous quantity of oil in fry pan. When hot place tablespoons of mixture into pan and turn to low. Cook slowly for few minutes until ready to flip. Other side won't need as long.

Place on paper towels, if needed, and serve immediately. Lemon juice worked to cool fritters down for eager Billie, and tasted nice too.

GETTING CREATIVE with NUTTY TOFU AND SWEET POTATO FRITTERS

Being 'stranded' in a Chicago kitchen sans cookbooks and my usual over-stocked pantry is forcing me to get more creative.

It's a good way to be. I think when we return home to Sydney I will force myself use everything in the cupboards before buying any more dried goods. That's if the guy renting our apartment hasn't already made good use of the stocks (I did encourage him - being a fellow cook and vegetarian).  

I devised this delicious, adult-and-baby-friendly recipe while brushing my teeth one night this week, and have since made the fritters twice - to Billie's delight. Both times she munched her way through FOUR - she demanded I cook up some more after demolishing her first. Not only does she love the taste, but the fritters are perfect self-feeding items. Just break off a little and hand over. Although Billie also allowed me to spoon her a fair amount of fritter, impatient for that taste sensation.

A note on nuts: I began feeding Billie nut butters (but not yet peanut) when she was about 8.5 months. Please consult your doctor if your baby is deemed at risk of allergies.

Check these for more info:   An Eggy Affair - allergies etc             American Academy Pediatrics


NUTTY TOFU AND SWEET POTATO FRITTERS

1 large sweet potato

1/2 block tofu

4 T almond butter (or any other suitable nut)

2 eggs, beaten

1 spring onion

1 clove garlic

handful fresh coriander, finely chopped

1/2 t salt (optional - best not for baby)

Fresh lime or lemon wedges to squeeze over hot fritters   

Cut sweet potato into pieces and steam. Remove skins and mash with fork. Meanwhile, finely slice spring onions and garlic, saute briefly. Mash tofu and combine all with eggs and sweet potato. Mixture should be wet.

Heat olive oil in fry pan.When hot, spoon tablespoons of mixture into pan and turn heat right down to low. Cook gently for few minutes (about five) before attempting to flip. They are prone to break, but when cooked enough on one side they will stay intact. So if the first one crumbles, leave the rest a bit longer. If you find they are too fragile, add about one-two tablespoons of flour. Avoid doing this though as it changes the flavour.

Eat hot with freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice. Serve as is for lunch, or with green and tomato salad for dinner. Be sure to reserve some for the adults, as baby likely to munch through more than you may think....

BILLIE BITES RETURNS TO CELEBRATE 9-MONTH B'DAY

We're back, just in time to mark Billie's ninth month. She has now been living in this world for as long as she lazed about in my tummy. Read on to learn how to make the best corn fritters, served with delicious Mexican-style sides.
 
Some baby food literature recommends waiting til this point to bring on the eggs etc, and some recommends banning eggs and nuts until at least one year. However, Billie has been happily chomping back eggy delights for a few weeks now. I chose to dive in - she also loves the cashew, brazil and almond nut paste I have been mixing with her tofu and ricotta.

This recent research report, American Academy of Pediatrics- Allergies, suggests there are no known advantages to delaying the introduction of these foods, although I did wait til she was 8 months for the nuts and 8.5 for the egg whites. See my previous writing on this subject, An Eggy Affair . Peanuts are on next week's menu, before we hit America where peanut butter finds its way into everything. (Please consult your doctor if your baby has been deemed at risk of developing food allergies.)

"Although solid foods should not be introduced before
4 to 6 months of age, there is no current convincing
evidence that delaying their introduction beyond this
period has a significant protective effect on the devel-
opment of atopic disease regardless of whether in-
fants are fed cow milk protein formula or human
milk. This includes delaying the introduction of foods
that are considered to be highly allergic, such as fish,
eggs, and foods containing peanut protein. " American Academy of Pediatrics policy revision

To mark the return of Billie Bites, after a forced break due to over-use of my right arm (at first attributed to the computer but now deemed to be equally about carrying and manoeuvring an ever-growing baby) I am offering up my latest and most exciting vegetarian creation. You could easily make this gluten-free by swapping the flour for a suitable version.

Whenever we find ourselves looking at a cafe menu - less and less with Billie in tow - my eyes stop at anything corn fritter-related, or anything that sounds vaguely Mexican. So when we were sharing a late lunch at an Avalon cafe in Sydney last Sunday (can't recall the name sorry) we went straight for the gluten-free corn fritters served with salsa, fried egg, black beans and avocado. I have no idea how they made their fritters, but I was inspired by the array of sides.

Somehow I've never tried to make corn fritters, just busied myself becoming the best critic of other peoples' (chefs). So I'm pretty proud of these last minute numbers. No recipe book on the shelf offered me a guide, and I couldn't/didn't want to look on-line (kinda cheating anyhow) so this is what I came up with. And yes, Billie loved them. The second time round. So don't get put off if your baby at first refuses.

RICOTTA CORN FRITTERS served with BLACK BEANS, TOMATO AND CORIANDER SALSA and FRIED EGG

 First soak/cook/pressure cook 1 cup black beans, aka Brazilian Beans. Or open a tin and heat before serving. 

Finely chop 3 tomatoes, 1/2 red onion, bunch fresh coriander and mix with generous dash of olive oil and fresh lime or lemon juice. Add salt and pepper and set aside.

CORN AND RICOTTA FRITTERS        

1/2 cup self-raising plain flour

1/2 cup cornmeal (could use plain flour or omit)

1 teaspoon baking powder

4 eggs well beaten (use electric beater if have)

200g ricotta (fresh is best)

3 corn cobs, kernels removed uncooked

freshly ground black pepper

milk - 1/2- 1 cup (mixture should be very wet, not dry enough to handle)

Heat olive oil in cast iron fry pan. When hot, turn to low heat and spoon in dollops of fritter mixture and flatten. Cook for about 5 mins on low heat so cooks through, rather than just browning. Flip, flatten and cook for another few mins. Place in tray in warm oven while rest of fritters are cooked.

When ready to eat, fry up an egg per person and serve on top of fritters with large spoon of salsa above, black beans and avocado or sour cream if you have (we didn't).

 Billie ate the black beans mashed with some ricotta, a fritter sliced into fingers and would have chomped on avocado if any were on offer.

Better run, as I am bashing this out in between changing nappies, whipping up Billie's lunch, and now my folks visiting from New Zealand await a tour of Sydney's finest winter offerings. It's great to be back...