TURKISH ZUCCHINI, DILL & HALOUMI FRITTERS WITH PISTACHIO SAUCE

SERVES 4 / PREPARATION 15 MINUTES PLUS DRAINING TIME / COOKING 10 MINUTES FOR THE FRITTERS

4 zucchini, grated 1 teaspoon sea salt 100g haloumi, diced 2 tablespoons dill, chopped

(or use chives or mint) ½ cup flour ½ teaspoon baking powder 2 eggs, lightly beaten oil for frying salad of thinly sliced green tomatoes

and avocado to serve Put the zucchini in a colander with the salt and leave to sit for 30 minutes. Squeeze out the excess liquid (don’t rinse the zucchini) and put into a bowl with the haloumi and dill.

Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl, then add the eggs. Mix well – the batter should be reasonably thick.

Heat some oil in a frying pan and in batches, drop large spoonfuls of the batter into the pan, cooking for 3 minutes on each side. Serve with the following pistachio sauce.

FOR THE PISTACHIO SAUCE

100g pistachios 1 small clove garlic 1 cup basil leaves ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil juice ½ lemon In a blender, blitz all the ingredients together with up to ¼ cup water to make a slightly chunky paste. Season to taste. (V) (DF)

Tamarind beef salad Make a dressing of tamarind puree, palm or brown sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and chopped chilli. Toast a couple of tablespoons of rice in a dry pan until golden. Roughly crush in a mortar. Grill beef steaks to rare, rest and slice. Mix with the dressing, add sliced cucumber, chopped spring onion, blanched beans, bean sprouts, fresh coriander and chopped cherry tomatoes. Scatter over the ground rice.

Broccoli & anchovy sauce Cut a head of broccoli into florets, peel the stems and roughly chop. Fry in olive oil with slivers of garlic, some chilli flakes and some chopped anchovy fillets. Add grated lemon zest and juice and a dash of water and cook until soft. Pile onto a baked potato or toss through pasta.

Eggplant parmesan Slice eggplant, drizzle with olive oil and bake until golden and tender. Make a tomato sauce with garlic, basil and either fresh or tinned tomatoes. Lay eggplant slices in an oiled baking dish, top with a layer of sauce, some breadcrumbs, grated parmesan and some mozzarella slices and repeat until all the eggplant and sauce is used up. Bake until bubbling. Good hot or room temperature.

Panzanella Fry coarse bread crumbs or torn bread with olive oil, salt and thyme leaves until golden and crisp. While still warm, toss with blanched green or yellow beans, a variety of tomatoes, some red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, mashed garlic and roughy torn basil. Allow the bread to soften slightly and serve. Stonefruit salad & green tomatoes Slice firm but ripe nectarines or peaches into wedges, mix with thinly sliced green tomatoes with a dressing of fish sauce, lime juice, chopped chilli and peanut oil. Add chopped peanuts, chopped coriander and fried shallots to garnish.