Wild Garlic, Spring Greens & Lentil Fritters Recipe

Ingredients

1 short cucumber
1 lemon
150g Greek style yogurt
200g spring greens
1 ltr boiling water
2 spring onions
A handful of wild garlic
400g tinned green lentils
A handful of mint, leaves only
30g flour
50g breadcrumbs
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
4 eggs
3 tbsp olive oil

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Method

1. Halve the cucumber lengthways, and use a teaspoon to scoop out and discard the seeds. Finely slice the cucumber into thin half-moons, and slide into a bowl. Zest the lemon and add to the cucumber. Spoon in the yogurt and sprinkle in a little salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Set to one side.

2. Make the fritter mix. Cut any woody stalks away from the spring greens and discard them. Shred the leaves very thinly and tip them into a large, heatproof bowl. Pour over 1 ltr boiling water, or enough to just cover. Set aside for 2 mins, then drain the greens and rinse with cold water to cool and stop them cooking. Squeeze the greens firmly to drain away any excess water. Add the greens to a large bowl.

3. Trim the roots and top 3cm off the spring onions. Separate the white and dark green parts. Finely slice the white ends (save the dark green parts for later in the recipe). Shred the wild garlic leaves. Add the chopped spring onions and wild garlic to the spring greens.

4. Drain the lentils and stir them in to the bowl. Pick the mint leaves and finely shred them. Add most of them to the bowl, keeping a pinch back for later.

5. Tip in the flour and breadcrumbs. Sprinkle in a good pinch of salt and pepper. Crack in 4 eggs. Squeeze in the lemon juice and add a little salt and pepper. Stir everything together really well, till all ingredients are evenly dispersed.

6. Pour 1 tbsp oil into a pan and warm to a medium heat. Add 4 heaped tbsp fritter mix to the frying pan to make 4 fritters. Press down with the back of a spatula or fish slice and fry for 4-5 mins till golden underneath and firm. Flip and fry for another 2-3 mins. Lift out of the pan and set on a plate lined with kitchen paper.

7. Repeat, using the rest of the mixture to make 8 more fritters and adding 1 tbsp oil to the frying pan. You should have 12 fritters in total.

8. Transfer the fritters to two warm plates. Serve with the cucumber yogurt, garnished with the finely sliced spring onion tops and remaining mint leaves.