Cauliflower Spelt Latkes
Cauliflower Spelt Latkes
by: Ruth Nieman
Serves: 4
Food writer Ruth Nieman is inspired by the culinary and viniculture of Israel’s diverse cuisine.
Her books, recipes and writing is packed with flavour, culture and history from the ancient land and can be tasted at Cultural Bites.
Fritters are small pieces of meat, fish, vegetable or fruit, coated in a light batter and fried until golden brown. A latke is the Yiddish term for a fritter, that was traditionally made with the affordable potato, but becoming more popular using other vegetables with or without the potato. The versatile cauliflower, when paired with delicate Middle Eastern spices, makes a delicious fritter, particularly when bound with the nuttiness of spelt flour.
Ingredients
1 small cauliflower
½ cup/65g spelt flower
2 tablespoons/30g flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoons/15g fresh coriander
1 shallot
2 garlic cloves
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 cup/250mls sunflower oil, for frying
Directions
Cut the cauliflower into florets & place in a saucepan of salted boiling water, cook on a low heat until soft, drain well
Finely chop the parsley, coriander, shallot & crush the garlic & place in a bowl, add the spelt flour, spices & a good seasoning of salt & pepper & whisk well to combine until you have a smooth batter
Add the warm, drained cauliflower & mash with a fork into the batter, until all is mixed well
Pour the sunflower oil into a large pan & heat until hot, then place 2 tablespoons of the batter mixture into the pan & press with the back of the spoon to form the fritter, work in batches of 3-4, cooking the fritters for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown, repeat until all the mixture has been used up
Drain on kitchen towel & keep warm in a low-temperature oven until ready to eat
Serve with a yoghurt dressing of Greek yoghurt and plenty of chopped fresh coriander, or labane
