How’s your ‘to do’ list going this week? I wanted to give you a little something that you can whip up and enjoy during this busy Christmas week. I can tell you first hand that these tasty zucchini fritters are best enjoyed with a Mojito. Both are extremely moor-ish and Mojito has fun written all over it. I guess this tells you how my ‘to do list’ is going but at least I am having a little fun as I step further in to the dark hole of disorganisation and despair. It is entirely up to you whether you have more of the mojito’s or the fritters and entirely up to you whether you enjoy them solo (as you sit up at the bench staring at your lengthy ‘to do list’) or whether you share with wonderful friends. These are so quick & easy and seasonal, to boot. We have zucchini growing right now and it is beautiful to walk in to the backyard, pick a zucchini and be enjoying homemade fritters in less than 10 minutes.

A little tip – the batter is better if you have time to let it rest for 15 minutes (you can also leave for up to 4 hours in the fridge).

I hope you enjoy & I hope you have a really special and wonderful Christmas this year!

Zucchini fritters
Makes approx 12 small (canapé sized) fritters

1 medium zucchini
1 egg
3 tablespoons of self raising flour
50g marinated goats cheese or feta, crumbled (I love using this Meredith Dairy marinated goats cheese)
2 tablespoons of chopped spring onion (green only)
1 garlic clove, crushed
2-3 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon of chopped Italian parsley
Zest of 1 lemon
A small pinch of chilli flakes
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper1 tablespoon of melted butter

Coarsley grate the zucchini into a clean teatowel, muslin or chux cloth. Pull the sides of the cloth up, twist & squeeze as much liquid out of the zucchini as possible. It is really important to squeeze as much of the liquid out as you can for fritter perfection.

Mix the flour and egg together to make a thick and smooth batter. Add the grated zucchini, goats cheese or feta, spring onion, mint, parsley, lemon zest, chilli flakes and season to taste. Stir in the melted butter (melt it in the pan you are going to cook the fritters in – saves on dishes and you have greased your frying pan already).

Spoon dollops of the mixture in to your hot frying pan. Cook for approximately 2 minutes each side, until golden and the fritters are cooked through the centre.

I like to serve these little gems with my beetroot relish, salad leaves, lemon wedges and of course, a mojito.

Mojito’s

In a mixing glass, gently muddle together:
1 large sprig of mint and 30 ml of sugar syrup **
Add half a spent lime hull (or use lime wedges), 30 lime juice (no less, no more), 60ml  white rum (Bacardi works really well), 90ml  sparkling mineral water. Top with crushed ice and mix with a straw until drink is combined and glass is frosty.

** To make a sugar syrup, combine equal quantities of caster sugar to water in a saucepan (eg. 2 cups sugar to 2 cups water) and stir over heat until the sugar dissolves. Store, covered in the refrigerator until required. Sugar syrup is great for coulis, sorbets, cocktails, gelato and warmed over summer fruits.