These pumpkin and quinoa fritters are a true all-rounder - give them a go for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Recipes & Styling Natalie Homan | Photographs Brendan Homan

Pumpkin & quinoa fritters with tahini yoghurt & kale pesto
serves 4

for fritters
⅓ cup quinoa
⅔ cup water
1 cup grated pumpkin
¼ cup chickpea flour
1 tbsp tahini
sea salt & cracked black pepper
olive oil for frying

for tahini yoghurt
3 tbsp tahini
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
3 tbsp lemon juice
⅔ cup Greek yoghurt

for kale pesto
2 garlic cloves
25g pinenuts
4 cups of kale leaves
25g grated parmesan
⅓ cup olive oil

to serve
1 cup watercress leaves
½ cup basil  leaves
⅓ cup toasted mixed seeds, for example
pepita, sunflower, sesame
1 tsp sumac

Place quinoa and water into a small saucepan with a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside for 5 minutes before transferring to a tray and cooling in the refrigerator. Place half the quinoa into a food processor along with pumpkin, flour and tahini and blend to combine. Place mix in a medium bowl, mix through remaining quinoa and season. Form into walnut-sized fritters, place onto a tray and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

For tahini yoghurt, mix together ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

For kale pesto, place garlic and pine nuts in the bowl of a food processor and blitz to form a paste. Add kale and blitz until finely chopped. Add parmesan and pulse to combine.  Slowly add olive oil until incorporated.

Pour olive oil to a 1cm depth in a deep non-stick frypan and heat to 180C. Shallow fry fritters until golden, turning frequently to ensure even browning. Place on paper towel to drain excess oil.

To serve, spread a layer of tahini yoghurt onto a plate followed by a layer of kale pesto. Arrange fritters on the plate. Garnish with watercress and basil leaves. Sprinkle over seeds and sumac.

 

This article first appeared in the February 2023 issue of SALIFE magazine.