Courgette, feta and dill fritters

I love fritters. They're so deliciously savoury, and the possibilities for add-ins are just about endless. And then you get to decide what to serve them alongside... bacon is just about never the wrong choice.

These fritters are best made at the end of summer (does early Autumn count?!), when courgettes are so cheap the supermarket or green grocer are just about paying YOU to take them, as opposed to the other way round.

While fritters are pretty easy, the timing can be tricky... basically, you can only make a few at a time in a single frying pan - unless you want to be washing every frying pan you own, and/or run the risk of burning some as you juggle different cooking times across multiple frying pans. No! Not today Satan.

The best approach is to rely on your oven, and pop each batch of newly fried fritters into it before getting to work on the next lot. There are a few rules to follow here though - only one layer ever in the oven ever (to avoid any sogginess), and pop them onto a wire rack rather than a tray if possible, as this ensures you don't lose any of the fried crunchiness you've worked hard for in the frying pan. After all that hard work, it would be so sad to end up with a limp mess.

Try this:

Ingredients

5 courgettes, grated

1 onion, finely sliced

2 tsp salt

125 gm feta, crumbled

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup plain flour

2-3 Tbsp milk

A handful of fresh mint and dill, chopped roughly

Salt and pepper

Olive oil for frying

Method

Place the grated courgette and sliced onion into a large bowl and sprinkle over the 2 tsps of salt. Mix it through well with your hands, and leave off to the side for 30 minutes while the salt draws the moisture out of the vegetables.

When the time is up, wring out the mix with your hands or use a clean tea towel, throwing the water away and keeping the wrung-out vege in a new clean, dry bowl. Heat oven to 160c.

In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, flour and milk together until fully incorporated with no flour lumps.

Add the chopped herbs, crumbled feta and salt and pepper (go easy on the salt - the feta brings plenty!) to the courgette mix and stir through well. Last, add the beaten egg mix and gently stir through, ensuring everything is coated with egg and well incorporated.

Place a frying pan with a thick bottom over a medium heat, and add a slosh of oil. Leave it to heat while you arrange a wire rack over a baking tray, and place it in the oven. When the oil is hot, begin frying the fritters - a heaped tablespoon of batter makes a manageable sized fritter. Spread them out in the frying pan and leave them to fry for a few minutes on the first side undisturbed, then carefully flip them over and fry them on the other side for a few more minutes. Once they are golden brown on both sides, gently place them onto the hot rack and into the oven to keep cooking while you fry the rest of the batter. Add more oil to the pan as you go if they're soaking it up.

The fritters need 5-10 minutes in the oven after frying to ensure they're fully cooked in the middle. Make sure the last ones to go in the oven get properly cooked while you start to serve up the first ones. Serve them as soon as they've had their time baking. They're great served with a dollop of chilli yoghurt, or whatever takes your fancy.

Makes 10-12 fritters.