Elderflower fritters: Summer pudding made easy…

 

You could rave on about elderflower till the cows come home. Indeed this recipe can go down with the hundreds of other mandatory elderflower recipes that appear every summer in virtually every newspaper supplement…”go wild!” they say, I think it is slightly ironic coming from some staff writer, jumping on the foraging bandwagon, chained to a desk somewhere in the city…but then they are writing something worthwhile at least!

To be Frank as opposed to Susan, they are just too bloody good not to do…

I have been doing elderflower fritters with my forgers for some years now, and although they have the tendency to fall slightly on the bitter side, a liberal dousing of sugar can easily counteract such inflictions.

So whilst the elderflower is out, you may even be lucky enough to have some in the garden, bosh out a bunch of these for a quick easy summer pud:

Elderflower Fritters:

A ludicrously easy recipe, this consist of making a batter, heating up some vegetable oil on a hob or gas stove, dipping elderflowers in batter and chucking them in the oil till golden. Done.

Batter:

 

 

• 4oz plain white flour
• 1 egg (beaten)
• ½ pint of milk
• A pinch of salt
• ½ tsp of vanilla essence

 

Sift the flour and salt and make a well in the centre to drop in the beaten egg. Mix the egg and flour then slowly add the milk, whisk until there are no lumps! Add vanilla essence at the end and mix well. For those that want a rich pancake batter for pancakes use the above recipe with an extra egg!

Cooking:

 

Heat up 500ml of vegetable oil in a small saucepan, test to see if it is hot enough by dripping a splodge of batter of a spoon, if it turn golden brown in under a minute, you are good to go.

Dip the flower heads in the batter and twirl the stalk between the fingers to remove any excess batter. Drop into oil and remove with a slotted spoon when golden, onto a plate topped with kitchen towel. Douse liberally with caster sugar and a dash of cinnamon (if you are feeling fancy).

Eat.

 

 

I was lucky enough to spend summer solstice last night in a fine place with my friend what-you-talking-about-Willis at www.safaribritain.com a wonderful Sussex valley all to ourselves with a few ales, some homemade burgers and some funky Chimichurri sauce (recipe to follow). The Yurts and bell tents nestled just below Firle beacon are one of the most incredible places I have ever been, there are plenty of week days available still- I urge you to check it out, you can even book me to take you foraging! 

 

 

Been up to lots recently, trying to sort out stuff for the next book, turning out its a lot harder than doing the first, perhaps because I had nothing to lose! Had an interesting comment the other day from a book buyer: "you are the epitome of country cool, I like the way you mix the surfy look with the rustic". Most flattering, should probably give Countryfile a boot up the arse and get them out of their waterproofs!

Oh, and if anyone wants a Tree house built- do get in contact. Here's part of one I made earlier:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Giles]

Nice looking recipe shame it doesn't fit in with my metro-sexual diet these days.

Question... what happened to the cave idea?

[The Curious Cat]

The elderflower fritters are something I'm definitely going to have a go at one day...such idyllic photos here...makes me want to escape to the countryside...some of your photos on the top posts are not showing up though - I'm not sure why...thought I'd better let you know. xxx