I'm using the barbecue to create the most wonderful fritters, powered by an incredible smoky, blistered salsa. These crispy halloumi fritters
with smoky sweetcorn, tomato salsa, braised spinach, and fried eggs are an epic breakfast feast to feed a crowd. Come on!
Prepare the barbecue for direct cooking over high heat. The temperature gauge should register about 300°C.
Remove the husks from the corn, prick the chillies and place both on a direct heat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly charred, rotating occasionally. Add the whole spring onions and tomatoes and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until just starting to colour, turning occasionally, then move them to the indirect heat to continue cooking until softened. Remove all the veggies to a board to cool slightly, then turn the barbecue to a medium-low heat so it registers about 230°C.
To make the salsa, squeeze the juice of the limes into a large bowl. Grate in their zest, drizzle over 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, mix, and season to perfection with sea salt and black pepper. Deseed the chillies, trim the spring onions and discard the tomato stalks, then roughly chop and add to the bowl. Use the tip of your knife to slice the corn kernels from the cob into the bowl. Finely slice the coriander stalks and roughly chop the leaves, add them to the bowl too, and give it all a good mix.
In another bowl, cover the noodles with boiling kettle water and leave to rehydrate. Crack 3 of the eggs into a large mixing bowl, tip in the flour, 150ml of cold water and a pinch of sea salt, and whisk to a smooth batter. Drain the noodles and add them to the mix along with half the salsa, holding back the tomato juices. Season to perfection and mix well.
Finely slice the halloumi into ½ cm-thick slices. Drizzle the barbecue with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add 3 or 4 slices of halloumi, then spoon ¼ of the noodle batter on top of the halloumi, spreading it out to make a roughly
1cm-thick round. Repeat with the remaining halloumi and batter to make 4 large fritters. Cook for 10 minutes, or until lightly golden, flipping halfway through.
Meanwhile, make a herb brush by tying the ends of the thyme to the end of a wooden spoon with some string. Dip it in a little olive oil and brush over the barbecue, then crack on the remaining 4 eggs and season to perfection. Cover with a basting dome, add a splash of water and fry to your liking.
Scatter the spinach over the barbecue and cook until wilted.
Remove the fritters to 4 plates. Top each fritter with a fried egg, ¼ of the spinach and a dollop of the remaining salsa, then finish with cottage cheese and a drizzle of chilli sauce. What a joy!
