Jack Monroe’s veg-peel fritters recipe

“I use a combination of grated root vegetables and vegetable peelings for these, the ratio varying depending on how much of the latter I have to hand,” says Jack Monroe.

“You can use any mixture of potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips and beetroot – although some of those are naturally grubbier than the others, so proceed with caution! Courgette makes a jolly accompaniment as well – a good variety of colours makes these really rather gorgeous to look at.”

Veg-peel fritters

Ingredients:
(Serves 4)

400g mixed root vegetables and peels
1 large onion
1 egg
3tbsp flour
70g cheese, grated
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Oil, for frying

Method:

1. First, make sure your peels are clean – if they’re a bit mucky, bring a pan of water to a vigorous boil, salt it very generously, and drop them in for a minute or two to blanch and loosen the soil. Drain and spread onto a clean, flat tea towel, and rub dry vigorously to remove any stubborn bits. Plunge straight into a bowl of cold water to stop them from cooking any further – you don’t want them to be too far gone in comparison to your veg, else the fritters will cook unevenly.

2. Finely slice your peels, and grate the veg. Then peel and finely chop the onion and place it with the veg and peels into a large mixing bowl.

3. Crack in the egg and mix well, then add the flour and cheese and mix well to combine. If it needs a hand sticking together, add a tablespoon of cold water and mix again.

4. Heat a little oil in a frying pan, and add a tablespoon of the fritter mixture. Flatten with the back of a spoon – the thinner they are, the faster they will cook and the crisper they will be. Fry on each side until golden and crisp. Remove from the pan and keep warm.

5. Repeat until all the fritter mixture has been used. To keep each batch warm as you cook the rest, put them in the oven, heated to the lowest temperature.

6. I serve these for breakfast with sausages and a poached or fried egg, as a sneaky pile of vegetables and vitamins to start the day, hidden in a tasty Jackson Pollock-esque hot and crispy disguise.

To keep: These freeze brilliantly and can be kept for up to three months – you can freeze either the fritter mixture or the cooked fritters. Allow to defrost completely in the fridge for a few hours before cooking or heating through to serve.

Thrifty Kitchen by Jack Monroe is published by Bluebird, priced £19.99. Photography by Patricia Niven. Available now.