Potato fritters

I never thought this week would end! I have survived that horrid first week back at work after a wonderful, relaxing holiday. There are few things in life as depressing as going back to work, particularly if the holiday week was as enjoyable as mine was. I had some very dear guests from back home. I love that our house is large enough to comfortably accommodate guests, and I love our wonderful conservatory which is such a beautiful space to serve meals in. For breakfast it's light and the scenery out over the fields is beautiful and in the evening it's cosy when lit up with candles and some soft light. And in the daytime it serves as a great office space for writing my blogs now that our old sofa has retired and moved to the conservatory as well.

Anyhow, the main point was I survived the week at work. And as it's the weekend, there was a need for something delicious for brunch. And that something is... drumroll... these lovely potato fritters. The recipe is from the wonderful The English Kitchen and is used almost unaltered, except I reduced the amount of cheese a little bit as I happened to have a 75g chunk hanging around. These are great as you can prep the potatoes on the evening before, and then they are pretty quick to make. Also very frugal food, particularly if you don't use much cheese the rest of the ingredients hardly cost a thing (particularly if you can just go outside and dig up your own potatoes!)

Potato fritters (makes 12):
500 grams floury potato
75 g grated cheddar (original recipe says 120 g)
3 spring onions finely chopped
1 egg
3 tbsp flour plus some more for coating
oil for cooking (about 3-4 tbsp)
black pepper and salt to taste
nutmeg (original recipe says fresh, but I only have ground)

The howto:
Peel the potatoes and cut into chunks. Cook in lightly salted water until soft. Drain well and mash. Chill until cold (original recipe recommends in fridge over night, I only let them cool outside in the slightly chilly weather for a few hours). Mix in the grated cheddar, spring onion, egg, flour, salt and pepper to form a sticky dough. Form into 12 little fritters about half an inch thick. Coat in flour. Heat oil in a frying pan and cook fritters in small batches until golden brown on both sides. Place on a piece of kitchen towel to absorb excess oil, and keep fritters warm in an oven while finishing to cook them all. The original recipe suggested to serve with some more chopped spring onion and sour cream, which sounds delicious. I served mine as brunch with some bacon and toast.

The verdict:
These little fluffy potato fritters are delicious for a brunch or as a light lunch. You could also serve them as a side with something more substantial. They have a very comforting feel to them. The outside is nice and crispy from the flour that cooks in the oil, and the inside is light and fluffy. These were a brunch hit in our house and will definitely be made again.