Leek Fritters à la Ottolenghi

Are you getting bored with my posts about new cookbooks? Be honest and let me know in comments if you are. But for today, I hope not, 'cause I have yet another one. And it's a doozy.

The other day I noticed I had run out of Nielson Massey vanilla extract and this gave me the perfect excuse to visit the Williams Sonoma store in the mall. Cross my heart, that was all I was going to buy, not that I didn't walk through the entire store, per usual, but vanilla was supposed to be extent of my purchases. 

And there it was. In a basket near the door. A cookbook called PLENTY by  Yotam Ottolenghi.

Let's face it. I'm a sucker when it comes to cookbooks like this one.  I already have Ottolenghi: The Cookbook and love it, so I thought I'd really like this one. Usually, when I want a new cookbook it goes on my Amazon wish list OR I buy it used when available. But not this time. I turned around, bought it on the spot, and then went to the nearest chair in the mall and sat down to look at it. Me and all the old men holding their wives' purses. Honestly. I'm pathetic.

So...it's all veggies. Don't you love it? And oh... the photos! Not glamorously posed, but naturally. A real treat to see. I couldn't wait to tell you about it. 

So are you drooling? What to try first? A dilemma. And then I came across leek fritters. They reminded me a little of Faith's veggie fritter recipe we all loved around here and still make over and over. But these were so much better, if not as quick to make. Rather more like a pancake. It will be well worth the effort, I promise. I can't begin to describe the flavor. The spices are perfect, not too strong, exactly right.

So here it is:  Yotam Ottolenghi's Leek Fritters with a lovely yogurt/cilantro sauce....delicious.

Leek Fritters

From Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

Ingredients for the sauce:

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1/2 cup sour cream

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup parsley leaves, chopped

2 cups cilantro leaves, chopped

Ingredients for the fritters:

3 leeks (1 pound total, trimmed weight)

5 shallots, finely chopped

2/3 cup olive oil

1 fresh red chili, seeded and sliced

1/2 cup parsley, leaves and fine stalks, finely chopped

3/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg white

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon self rising flour (see bench note)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Bench notes: 

• To make self-rising flour if you don't have any at hand: mix 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 and 1/4 teaspoons baking powder and a pinch of salt.
• This was much like making pancakes. You wait until the bubbles appear on top, then flip.

Method for sauce:

Process all the ingredients together until a uniform green. Set aside.

Method for fritters:

Cut the leeks into scant 1 inch thick slices. Rinse clean and drain dry. Saute the leeks and shallots in half the oil for about 15 minutes until soft. Transfer to a bowl and add the chili, parsley, spices, sugar and salt. Allow to cool.

Whisk the egg white to soft peaks and fold into the vegetables.

In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, whole egg, milk and butter to form  a batter.
Gently mix the batter into the egg white/vegetable mixture.

Add a couple tablespoons of oil to a pan over medium heat. Spoon about half the vegetable mixture into the pan, making about 4 large fritters. Fry them 2 to 3 minutes on each side until golden brown and crisp. Remove to paper towels and keep warm. Continue making the fritters adding more oil if needed.
You should end up with eight large fritters. Serve warm with the sauce on the side or drizzled over.