Nigel Slater’s midweek dinner: sweetcorn and marrow fritters

Photograph Jonathan Lovekin

Shichimi togarashi, the Japanese powdered spice mixture of dried chilli, dried orange peel and sesame, is a wonderfully aromatic seasoning for these fritters. If you can’t get hold of it, use toasted sesame seeds and ground chilli.

Makes 8-10 large fritters. Serves 4.

Peel and seed 500g of marrow – you should end up with about 300g of pale green flesh. Coarsely grate the marrow (a food processor fitted with a large grating disc is best but the coarse side of a box grater will do). Transfer to a colander or sieve, sprinkle generously with sea salt and leave to drain for 30 minutes. If you are using fresh corn, remove the kernels from 3 cobs with a sharp knife – you should have about 300g; if using frozen kernels, then weigh out 300g.

Put the corn in a mixing bowl and add 75g of plain flour, 2 tsp of shichimi togarashi and 1 tsp of nigella seeds. Separate 2 large eggs, lightly beat the yolks, and stir into the sweetcorn.

Squeeze the marrow firmly with your fist to remove any excess liquid, then stir into the mixture with a fork. Using a large whisk, beat the egg white until stiff, then fold into the marrow and sweetcorn. Over a moderate heat, warm a couple of tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan. Place 4 large spoonfuls of the mixture – one for each fritter – in the hot oil, then let them cook for 3 or 4 minutes on each side, until golden and firm to the touch. Lift on to a serving plate and keep warm; repeat with the remaining batter.

To make a quick tomato sauce, slice 500g of tomatoes and place them cut side up on a grill pan or baking sheet; season with half a tsp of Aleppo pepper, and salt and black pepper. Cook under a hot grill for 12-15 minutes until soft and starting to brown. Roughly mash with a fork and serve with the marrow cakes. I like to add a handful of coriander leaves to the fritters as I serve them.

• No marrow? Use courgettes instead, but with no need to peel or seed them.