A plant based version of a classic courgette and sweetcorn fritter, using chickpea flour and minimal ingredients

**prep time** 15 mins
total time 30 mins
Makes 8 fritters, serves 2

Leaving out the egg and replacing it with chickpea (or gram) flour creates the key binding ingredient for these fritters. The grated courgette, lemon zest, sweetcorn and fresh mint come together for a refreshing and delicious flavour, perfect for a summer BBQ or light lunch! Plus it has minimal ingredients, making it a very easy vegan recipe to whip up!

All you’ll need is:

250g courgette, grated (approx. 1 courgette)
100g tinned drained sweetcorn
Handful of fresh mint (coriander or parsley also work well)
6 tbsp gram flour
1 tsp chilli flakes (to your personal taste)
Zest & juice of a lemon
Salt & black pepper
Vegetable oil for frying
Vegan yoghurt & sweet chilli sauce to serve (optional)

Start by grating the courgette, and draining the sweetcorn. As courgette and sweetcorn can be very wet, it is worth putting them in a tea towel, and squeezing out the excess liquid before adding the remaining ingredients in. You don’t have to do this, but I find it makes the fritters bind together better. Just be warned that it will leave your tea towel a little green (though this will come out in the wash easily).

Now you can add all of the ingredients into a large bowl and mix together - the mint can be interchanged with parsley or coriander for a different taste. So if you’re a fan, try these different options and decide which is your fave! I personally love the mint as it is so fresh.

You can also adjust the amount of chilli flakes, depending on your preference. Set this aside for 10 minutes to allow the mixture to start to bind together. You’ll notice the texture change when you come back to it, making it much easier to shape into patties.

This mixture should make up to 8 fritters. You can make less if you like them to be bigger. I find it easiest to split the mixture into four in the bowl, then take out half of each quarter into my hands.

In a large frying pan, pour in enough vegetable oil to cover the base of the pan. Heat on medium to high heat. When the oil is hot, take an eighth of the mixture, roll into a ball in your hands, and then place carefully in the oil. Using a spatula, press down the fritter to form a patty shape.

Repeat for the remaining fritters - I did this in two batches of four. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side, turning when golden brown. When they’re crispy and brown on both sides, remove from the pan onto a kitchen or tea towel to soak up the excess oil.

I love serving this up with a side dip of coconut yoghurt and mint, or sweet chilli sauce. These will go beautifully on top of a crisp green salad in the summer, or with roasted green veg and wedges for a midweek dinner.

INGREDIENTS

250g courgettes, grated (approx. 1 courgette)
100g tinned drained sweetcorn
Handful of fresh mint (coriander or parsley also work well)
6 tbsp gram flour
1 tsp chilli flakes (to your personal taste)
Zest & juice of a lemon
Salt & black pepper

Vegetable oil for frying
Vegan yoghurt & sweet chilli sauce to serve (optional)

METHOD

Add the grated courgette and sweetcorn to a tea towel, wrap up and squeeze out the excess moisture. You can skip this step, but it does help for the ingredients to bind together better.
Put all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix together, and set aside for 10 mins to allow them to come together.
Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan, enough to cover the base, and roughly divide the batter into 8 in the bowl.
Form a ball with your hands for each fritter, add carefully to the pan, and flatten gently with a spatula to form a burger patty shape.
On a medium heat, cook for about 5 mins on one side, then carefully turn over when golden brown to cook the other side. Remove and drain on the kitchen towel.
Serve with a green salad, wedges and a dollop of coconut yoghurt stirred through with fresh mint or sweet chilli.

notes

Swap out the mint for parsley or coriander, depending on what you have or enjoy.
Adjust the chilli flakes to your preference, or omit if you aren’t keen on spice (though they really add some flavour).
If you prefer, you can make 4-6 fritters of a slightly bigger size.