Grilled Pumpkin And Spiced Apple Fritters
Grilled pumpkin with smoky sage, chili and bacon dressing
Ingredients
1 small culinary pumpkin – pick a good heavy one
2 tablespoons olive or rapeseed oil + 50ml
salt
1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
12 sage leaves
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
4 rashers smoked streaky bacon
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Recipe
Set oven to 200oc.
Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds.
Cut each pumpkin half into 8 wedges.
Toss in the 2 tablespoons of oil and place on a baking tray.
Season with salt and cook until soft – about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile cook the bacon until crisp and golden and drain on kitchen paper.
Heat a tablespoon of the oil and fry the onion and sage until crisp.
Chop and add the bacon, paprika, mustard and vinegar and turn off the heat. Mix in the oil and check seasoning.
Cook the pumpkin on a hot grill pan or barbecue to mark and place on a platter and drizzle over the dressing.
Spiced Apple Fritters
Ingredients
125g plain flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
25g castor sugar
125ml buttermilk
½ teaspoon mixed spice
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cooking apple, peeled, cored and coarsely grated
1 egg separated
oil for frying
100g castor sugar mixed with 2 teaspoons cinnamon to dust
Recipe
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and mix in the spices and sugar. Make a well in the centre and add the egg yolk.
Whisk in the buttermilk to a smooth batter and allow to stand for 15 minutes.
Mix in the apple.
Whisk the egg white to stiff peaks and fold into the mixture in 3 stages.
Heat the oil to 170oc – check by adding a little of the batter – should be on a low heat.
Add tablespoons of the batter and cook until golden and crisp in batches.
Drain on kitchen paper and then dredge in the cinnamon sugar.
Serve warm.
