I was thumbing my way through a fancy cookbook (Plenty) that I got for Christmas and was drawn to the picture of the leek fritters. I was thinking they would be denser, like a potato pancake sort of thing. But these ended up being light and nice. Gentle flavor, but not boring. ("Boring" is about the worst thing you can call something in my house!) The tumeric and the cumin gave them a slightly exotic flavor.
I need to try them again as they seemed a little complicated to make but I think that that was simply due to the fact that 1) I hadn't made them before 2) the instructions were not laid out well/to my liking and 3) I was also cookingthe orange butter coffee cake at the same time, something else I hadn't made before, so my brain was spinning and I was in constant danger of conflating the various recipes.
Frying the leeks and shallots...
Chopped parsley and a seeded red chili pepper...
Everything mixed together, including spices, ready for the batter...
Cook until golden brown...
Plated with garlic mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts...
A Note about Brussels Sprouts
I don't recall having eaten them more than once or twice in my life. But when we were all together for my father's 90th birthday in November, we cooked brussels sprouts. At that time, we par boiled them, tossed them with olive oil and spices and then baked them in the oven. Not bad, but too much time and too many opportunities for failure. So I have simplified it.
I discovered that you can skip the par boiling, just cook them "facedown" in a large frying pan, and be done with them in about 15 minutes. Toss some smashed garlic cloves in with them and it adds some nice flavor. I don't turn them, but I do cover them about half to three-quarters of the way through the process so that they are cooked all the way through. These have worked their way into my rotation.
And I think the fritters have too...
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