I have a cameo memory from when I was young of sitting on the back doorstep shucking peas in the sunshine with my mum. Peas were super exciting then, as although peas were available in cans all year round, it was before the frozen pea revolution and canned peas were completely different to fresh peas. Fresh peas were a total treat when they arrived.
We grow peas in our garden. Just for us, not for the shop, because if we were paid to grow, pick and shuck the peas without a mechanised system they would be like gold. We just grow them to eat like sweeties when they first ripen and as the crop ripens we always make risi e bisi (a pea risotto) and summer vegetable pilafs, paellas and salads but after that we begin to scratch our heads and the peas keep coming. It’s a real grow-your-own phenomenon, the all-or-nothing syndrome and when the peas ripen they need eating, as it’s obvious they should not go into the freezer.
This is a new recipe that we’ve enjoyed this summer. It was inspired by a recipe from Spain called Tortillitas de Camarones, which are crispy little fritters made with baby shrimp. Last autumn we visited Sanlucar de Barrameda in the very south of Spain and I have happy memories of bars where camarones were served as tapas on the terraces, usually with an accompanying glass of chilled manzanilla, the local sherry.
I became addicted to these thin crispy fritters and when I got home I tried to make my own. They weren’t quite the same and it wasn’t only the lack of sunshine that was missing, so I googled the problem and, after reading many recipes and watching a particularly edifying YouTube tutorial, I cracked it!
You might be wondering at this stage what this has to do with the peas; well I discovered they are an excellent addition to this recipe, either peas and shrimp or peas alone. Both work very well and the peas alone are suitable for vegans, which is always a bonus. In this West Cork version I use fresh prawns instead of baby shrimp.
There are couple of little tricks involved so read the recipe carefully before you begin.
Use a combination of gram flour and white rice flour if you want the fritters to be gluten-free. The water needs to be chilled and sparkling gives the best results
Pea fritters – Tortillitas de Guisantes
Ingredients:
•200g peas – fresh or defrosted
•1 small onion
•90g gram flour
•40g white flour or rice flour
•Quarter tsp turmeric
•A little lemon zest
•1 tbs finely chopped parsley
•Chilled sparkling water
•Oil to fry
Method:
Pod or defrost the peas.
Sift the gram flour and regular flour or cornflour into a bowl. Add half a teaspoon salt and turmeric. Stir to mix.
Peel and finely chop the onion small and finely chop the parsley. Zest a few swipes of lemon for the mix
Put everything except for the water into the bowl and mix well, then start stirring in the chilled water until the batter has a medium pouring consistency, like a crepe pancake mix or pouring cream.
Heat 4cms oil in a frying pan or wide based saucepan and when it is hot add a tablespoon of the fritter mix; spread it a little with the spoon after it goes into the pan, spreading the fritter with the back of the spoon under surface of the oil – it should be bubbling just below the surface. You need to do this quickly. Repeat but don’t overcrowd the pan. Cook each side for two to three minutes, until golden. Lift on to kitchen paper, then cook the next batch. It’s a good idea to stack the fritters like dishes so the oil drains off both sides.
Serve with lemon wedges
Tortillitas de
Camarones – Prawn
Fritters, with Garden peas
Ingredients:
•150g raw prawns
•150g peas – fresh or defrosted
•1 small onion
•90g gram flour
•40g white flour or rice flour
•Quarter tsp turmeric
•1 tbs finely chopped parsley
•Chilled sparkling water
•Oil to fry
Method:
Chop the prawns small, into pea-sized pieces.
Sift the gram flour and regular flour or cornflour into a bowl. Add half a teaspoon salt and turmeric.
Peel and finely chop the onion and finely chop the parsley.
Put everything except for the water into the bowl and mix well then start stirring in the chilled water until the batter has a medium pouring consistency, like a crepe pancake mix, like pouring cream. It’s quite thin.
Heat 4cms oil in a deep frying pan or wide based saucepan and when it is hot add a tablespoon of the fritter mix, spread it a little with the spoon as soon as it goes in the pan, spreading the fritter with the back of the spoon under the oil, it should be bubbling just below the surface. You need to do this quickly. Repeat but don’t overcrowd the pan. Cook each side for 2-3 minutes, until golden. Lift onto kitchen paper then cook the next batch. It’s a good idea to stack the fritters like dishes so the oil drains off both sides.
Serve with lemon wedges.
Moving into August is usually the beginning of the autumn cooking class session but unfortunately due to Covid restrictions they are still on hold. I have thought about doing zoom classes but this is only a conversation that I’m having with myself so far. If you have a voucher for a class and are impatient with waiting for the classes to resume please feel free to spend the voucher in the shop. If you have paid a deposit for a class the same applies. We’re also happy to refund deposits. It’s all a bit of a mess and a muddle.
Here’s hoping for more certain times
Summer greetings – even though it’s officially autumn!
