Ingredients
| 1 tablespoon chia seeds | |
| 250g green beans, trimmed | |
| 1 cup frozen edamame beans | |
| 2 cloves garlic | |
| 150g silken tofu | |
| ½ teaspoon salt | |
| 1 cup mint leaves, finely shredded | |
| ½ cup flour (or use gluten-free flour) | |
| 1 teaspoon baking powder | |
| oil for frying | |
| PEANUT, SRIRACHA & TOFU SAUCE | |
| ½ cup peanut butter (I love Pic’s Crunchy for this) | |
| 150g silken tofu | |
| 1 clove garlic | |
| zest and juice of 1 lemon | |
| 2 teaspoons soy sauce | |
| ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika | |
| 1 teaspoon hot sauce such as sriracha |
If the health benefits of chia seeds aren’t enough to persuade you to have them in your pantry, then think of them as standby for those times you’ve run out of eggs. The seeds, which are gluten free, swell with the addition of water making them excellent as a binding agent. This is one of the few situations where my sons prefer the rich peanut sauce to slather over each fritter rather than their usual sweet chilli sauce and/or tomato sauce.
NOTES
• If you eat eggs you can omit the chia seeds and use 1 lightly beaten egg in its place. • To make the recipe gluten free, make sure that the baking powder is not wheat-based and use a gluten-free flour. Chickpea or rice flour is a great option to use here.
Instructions
| 1. | Put the chia seeds into a ramekin with 3 tablespoons of water and leave for 5 minutes to form a gel. |
| 2. | Blanch the green beans in boiling, salted water for 3 minutes, then plunge into iced water. |
| 3. | Drain, chop into 5mm pieces and put into a bowl. |
| 4. | Blanch the edamame for 2 minutes, drain and plunge into iced water. |
| 5. | Put half of the edamame in the bowl with the green beans then blitz the remaining edamame in a food processor with the garlic and tofu to form a purée. |
| 6. | Combine with the beans, salt, mint leaves and hydrated chia seeds. |
| 7. | Fold through the flour and the baking powder. |
| 8. | Heat some oil in a frying pan and add spoonfuls of the batter, cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. |
| 9. | Serve with the peanut, sriracha & tofu sauce and a salad. |
| 10. | PEANUT, SRIRACHA & TOFU SAUCE |
| 11. | Combine all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. |
| 12. | Taste and adjust seasoning as required. |
| 13. | This will make more than you need but will keep refrigerated for a few days. |
Recipes & food styling Ginny Grant / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Jessica Hemmings
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