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Quesbo · Little Chef · Recipe 04 of 10
Golden little vegetable fritters with a cool lemon-yoghurt dip.
These little fritters have a golden surface and a soft centre dotted with green broccoli, peas and yellow sweetcorn. Cooking the vegetables first makes them easier to squash into a mixture that holds together. The flour and eggs then bind everything as the adult cooks each small round.
There are useful jobs for a school-age child throughout: weighing, mashing cooled vegetables, stirring and making the dip. Keep the frying area for the adult, and return to clean hands and tools before preparing anything ready to eat. Serve a few fritters with sides and offer more if wanted; appetites are different from one person and day to the next.
Who does what?
Little Chef
- Weigh ingredients and mash cooled vegetables.
- Stir the batter without tasting it.
- After washing up, mix the yoghurt dip.
Grown-up
- Chop broccoli and open the sweetcorn tin.
- Cook, drain and cool vegetables.
- Fry every batch and check the centre is fully cooked.
For school-age children with an attentive adult. Choose jobs to suit ability, supervise throughout and let each serving cool to a comfortable eating temperature.
Gather your ingredients
Makes: About 12 small fritters, serving 4 with sides
Preparation: 20 minutes · Cooking: 35 minutes. Timings are guides; follow the cooking checks. Use level 5 ml teaspoons and 15 ml tablespoons.
| 200 g | broccoli florets and tender peeled stem, prepared weight |
| 100 g | frozen peas |
| 100 g | canned sweetcorn, drained weight |
| 100 g | plain flour |
| ½ tsp (2.5 ml) | baking powder |
| 2 medium | eggs |
| 30 ml | milk, plus up to 15 ml extra only if needed |
| 2 tbsp (30 ml) | rapeseed or olive oil, divided between batches |
| 150 g | plain natural yoghurt |
| 1 tsp (5 ml) | lemon juice |
| A small pinch | ground black pepper, optional |
Allergens: Eggs; Wheat (gluten) in flour; Milk in milk and yoghurt; check baking powder and other labels.. Check every ingredient label and any substitutions against your family’s needs.
Equipment
- Scales, measuring spoons and a jug
- Adult knife and chopping board
- Saucepan and steamer or microwave-safe covered bowl
- Sieve or colander
- Large mixing bowl and fork or potato masher
- Non-stick frying pan and broad turner
- Clean food thermometer
- Small dip bowl and clean spoon
Make it step by step
1. Set out and prepare
Wash hands and clear a cold counter away from the hob. The child measures the flour and baking powder into a bowl and weighs the peas. The adult rinses the broccoli, removes any tough outer stem and cuts the tender stem into small pieces, with the florets divided for even cooking. Open and drain the sweetcorn; weigh 100 g after draining. Put the yoghurt back in the fridge until the dip is needed.
2. Cook, drain and cool
The adult steams or boils the broccoli until easily pierced, usually 5–8 minutes depending on the pieces. Cook the frozen peas thoroughly according to their packet; simply defrosting is not enough. Drain both well, spread on a clean plate and allow to cool until comfortable to handle. The adult finely chops the broccoli. Press away excess water with clean kitchen paper if needed: wet vegetables can make the fritters spread instead of holding their shape.
3. Make a thick mixture
At the cold counter, lightly mash the cooled broccoli and peas in the large bowl, leaving little pieces rather than making a purée. An adult helps crack the eggs into a separate cup and checks for shell. Beat them with the 30 ml milk, then stir into the vegetables with the corn, flour and baking powder. The mixture should hold a soft mound on a spoon. Add up to 15 ml extra milk only if dry flour remains. Do not taste this raw egg-and-flour mixture.
4. Fry small, flat rounds
The adult heats 2 teaspoons of oil in the non-stick pan over medium-low heat. Add four heaped spoonfuls of mixture, flattening each to about 7 cm wide and no more than 1 cm thick. Leave space between them. Cook for about 3–4 minutes per side, turning with a broad spatula when the underside holds together and is golden. Repeat twice with the remaining mixture and oil. Lower the heat if the outsides darken before the centres cook; no children help at the hob.
5. Check the centres and mix the dip
The adult checks the thickest fritter in each batch: the centre must be set and steaming hot, with no wet batter. A clean probe should read 75°C for at least 30 seconds; continue cooking if needed. Meanwhile, wash hands and clean the raw-batter tools and worktop. Using a fresh bowl and spoon, the child mixes the yoghurt with the lemon juice and optional pepper. Keep the dip chilled until serving. Never reuse the raw-batter spoon for the dip.
6. Build a colourful plate
Let the cooked fritters cool a little before serving. Put a few on each plate with yoghurt dip alongside, leaving extra fritters available for anyone still hungry. The adult can cut one open to show its cooked, soft green-and-yellow centre. Try dipping a corner or enjoy the dip separately. Ask your Little Chef which job they liked best; the aim is a relaxed shared meal, not a competition to eat the most vegetables.
Little tips, useful discoveries
Make it a meal or a snack
Add wholemeal bread or pitta and a side of cucumber or other vegetables your family enjoys for a fuller meal.
Keeping leftovers
Cool cooked fritters in a single layer, then refrigerate in a covered container within 2 hours at 0–5°C. Store dip separately. Eat both within 48 hours or the yoghurt's use-by date, whichever comes first. Reheat fritters only once until steaming hot throughout; do not reheat the dip.
Recipe and safety references
- Healthy Little Foodies — Broccoli Fritters, Amy Whiteford
- RecipeTin Eats — Broccoli Fritters, Nagi Maehashi
- Good Food — Sweetcorn fritters, Melissa Thompson
- Food Standards Agency — Cooking your food
- Food Standards Agency — Handling flour safely
- Food Standards Agency — Chilling, freezing and defrosting
