October. The first real breath of fall. The air is crisp. The leaves are starting to turn. Summer’s bright white hue changes to a spectrum of browns, reds, rust, orange and yellow…And I start to yearn for winter squash.
As the cool air starts to hit, our bodies change and start to desire warming food – soups, root vegetables, hardy leaves. I know I’ll be cooking a lot of soups and stews and braises. My oven is getting ready for two seasons of heavy use.
But my first foray into fall is a simple Fall Fritter. A quick pancake made from a bean and rice batter and some squash. I don’t fry much at home but this one is worth it. Add a quick dal or any main dish and you are all set.
Fall Fritters
Really, this can be any season fritters – just substitute zucchini or asparagus in the summer and spring. Also, feel free to experiment with the spices. This was adapted from Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking so I used Indian-inspired spices for this recipe
1 winter squash (about 1 ½ to 2 lbs)
or a mix of winter squash and carrots
Batter
2/3 cup chickpea flour
2/3 cup brown rice flour
2/3 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour (or whole wheat flour if you are not GF)
1 ¾ cups hot water (may need more to get the right pancake consistency)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp red pepper (optional)
½ tsp. Salt
½ tsp. pepper
1. Peel and seed the squash (some squashes such as acorn don’t need to be peeled) and cut into 1/8 inch thick x 2 inch long matchsticks.
2. Mix all the batter ingredients until thoroughly blended and smooth. Let the batter rest for about 15 minutes.
3. Heat oil until very hot. Dip a few pieces of acorn squash in the batter and drop into the oil. Fry the fritters, turning, until they look light golden and crisp (about 3 minutes on each side). With a slotted spoon, remove and drain on paper towels.
4. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.