Courgette Fritter & Haloumi Towers with Sweet Potato Wedges and Zingy Yoghurt Dip

This dish is a favourite of mine as it is packed with vibrant flavours and uses fresh ingredients whilst also being fairly cheap and easy to prepare

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 200°C.
   Chop the potatoes into wedge shapes. It isn’t necessary to peel them, but you can if you prefer to.
   Boil them for 2-3 minutes until they just about start to soften, but not all the way through.
   Drain and transfer to a roasting tray. Drizzle the wedges with olive oil and toss them with the garlic and thyme.
   Place in the oven for roughly 30 minutes or until they start to turn golden on the outside. Shake the tray every so often to ensure they cook evenly on all sides.
   
   Whilst the wedges are in the oven, make the mixture for the fritters. Firstly, coarsely grate the courgettes and remove the excess water. This can be done by placing them in a sieve over the sink and using your hands and your strength to squeeze them until little or no liquid comes out.
   
   When this process is done, transfer them to a mixing bowl along with the salt, lemon zest, chili, garlic and ginger. If you do not have fresh ginger, chili or garlic you can substitute them with 2tsps each of ginger, chili and garlic powder. Season with pepper.
   Fold the egg into the mixture, then sieve in both the flour and baking powder.
   
   You can leave the mixture to stand for fifteen or so minutes as this gives the baking powder a chance to work its magic. This stage is not essential, but I think it makes a difference to the overall texture.
   
   Heat enough oil to comfortably cover the surface of the pan, test whether it is hot enough by dropping a bit of the batter into it and seeing if it sizzles.
   Spoon in the mixture in roughly biscuit-sized discs, you should be able to fit about 4 fritters in your pan. Cook on each side for 2-3 minutes or until they are golden brown on both sides. If this seems to be happening too quickly (before they are cooked in the middle), reduce the heat to a medium flame.
   Drain on kitchen paper.
   
   Using kitchen paper, rub some olive oil over a griddle pan and heat. Dip the slices of haloumi in some flour, shake off any excess flour and then place them in the pan and fry on both sides until light brown and the outsides are crispy.
   
   When ready to serve, mix the yoghurt with a little lemon juice, the mint, salt and pepper.