Basil & lemon cauliflower & sweetcorn fritters

Steam the cauliflower and sweetcorn for 10 minutes, or until tender. Reserve the cooking water. Place the cooked vegetables into a large mixing bowl. Using a fork or a potato masher, roughly mash the cauliflower, leaving some chunks, keeping the corn whole.

Add the flour, salt, onion, eggs, baking powder, lemon zest and juice, then season. Add the basil leaves, ripping large ones in ½ and leaving smaller leaves whole. Reserve some small leaves. Loosen with 4 tbsp of the cooking water – the mixture should be quite wet and drop from a spoon easily. Cover and chill for 10 minutes.

Pour 0.5cm depth of oil into a large frying pan. Set over a high heat until the oil is shimmering. Take 1 large heaped tbsp of mixture and place into the hot oil, slightly flattening the batter down with the spoon as you do. Repeat until you have 3-4 fritters in the pan. Do not crowd it. Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown, turning carefully with a fish slice. Make sure the oil is hot enough before cooking subsequent batches, or you’ll end up with greasy fritters.

Remove and place on a plate lined with kitchen paper to soak up any excess oil while you cook the remaining mixture to make 12 fritters. Serve hot, garnished with the reserved basil leaves and the poached eggs and roasted cherry tomatoes, if liked.