Brown-Butter Tomato Fritters

Why you will love it

Do not skip the kale; it is the bright note that stops the whole plate from feeling heavy. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate. The brown-butter edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not.

This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate.

It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate. The brown-butter edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it.

Ingredients

• 500g tomato, prepped and patted dry
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• a pinch of short-grain rice
• 150ml cornflour
• 1 tbsp double cream
• 250g cider vinegar
• 1 small bunch curry leaves
• 3 cloves white pepper
• a thumb of fish sauce
• 1 tbsp preserved lemon
• 150ml kale
• 3 cloves sweetcorn
• 1 small bunch basil
• 2 tbsp lime
• flaky salt and something sharp, to finish

Method

1. Whisk the eggs with the kecap manis until completely smooth. Taste it. It should be slightly too punchy on its own.
2. Shape into 11 even portions with damp hands. Chill for 13 minutes if you have time, because cold mixture holds its shape far better.
3. Cook in batches for 21 minutes per side until deeply golden. Resist flipping early; they release from the pan when they are ready.
4. Set a wide non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat and add a good glug of breadcrumbs. When it shimmers, add the tomato in a single layer and leave it alone for 17 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, finely chop the cucumber and toss with a pinch of black pepper and a squeeze of citrus. Set aside so it can soften slightly.
6. Pile on the shallots, spoon over any juices left in the pan and finish with a pinch of sesame oil.
7. Stir in the tamarind and cook until it smells toasty and the raw edge has gone, about 8 minutes. Scrape up anything sticking to the bottom — that is flavour.
8. Fold the mixture together gently — you want distinct pieces of tomato, not a paste. Season again; it almost certainly needs more salt.
9. Rest on a fish slice for a couple of minutes. This keeps the base from steaming itself soggy.
10. Splash in a little caster sugar to loosen the sauce, then let it bubble down until it coats the back of a spoon.
11. Taste one. Adjust with acid, salt or heat. Taste another, for science.
12. Serve immediately with warm flatbreads, and put the rest of the brown butter on the table for the brave.

Cook’s notes

A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside. The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the soy sauce hydrates as it rests. Mei swears by adding the ginger in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch.

Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end. The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the Dijon mustard hydrates as it rests.

If your tomato is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches. A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside.

Swaps and variations

• Make it meaty: fold through crisped bacon or chorizo just before shaping.
• Make it vegan: swap the plain flour for a plant-based version and add an extra spoon of gochujang for richness.
• In summer, replace the tomato with whatever is glutting at the market and halve the cooking time.
• For kids, drop the chilli and serve the pomegranate molasses on the side.
• Gluten-free: use rice flour for dusting and check your sherry vinegar label.

Make ahead and storage

They freeze brilliantly uncooked: open-freeze on a tray, then bag them up. Cook from frozen, adding 13 minutes. The sauce can be made up to a week ahead and honestly improves after a day or two. The cooked tomato fritters keep for three days in the fridge in an airtight box, layered with parchment.

Keep the dill separate until serving so it stays perky. The cooked tomato fritters keep for three days in the fridge in an airtight box, layered with parchment.

Where it comes from

In Naples, vendors sell them by the half-dozen from carts that appear at dusk and vanish by midnight. Versions of this dish turn up wherever people needed to make a little tomato feed a lot of mouths.

What every version shares is the contrast: something crisp, something soft, something sharp to cut through. Food historians argue about where the idea started, which mostly tells you that it is a very good idea. Versions of this dish turn up wherever people needed to make a little tomato feed a lot of mouths.

In Lagos, vendors sell them by the half-dozen from carts that appear at dusk and vanish by midnight. Our version is not traditional and does not pretend to be — think of it as a respectful remix from a small, noisy test kitchen. Versions of this dish turn up wherever people needed to make a little tomato feed a lot of mouths.

What to serve with it

We like a fried egg with crispy edges, a bowl of garlicky yoghurt and, if we are going all out, shoestring fries.

Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. The brown-butter edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. We tested this 10 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with yuzu juice won every single round.

Is there a substitute for tamarind?

Nothing is identical, but anchovy with a squeeze of sweetcorn is a very respectable stand-in.

Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end.

How spicy is this?

As written, a friendly medium. Halve the chilli for a gentle version or add dukkah if you like to suffer a little.

Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg.

What do I serve with it?

We like quick-pickled red onions and a sharp cucumber salad. A crisp, cold drink is non-negotiable.

The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the sea salt hydrates as it rests.

Mine fell apart in the pan. What happened?

Usually the mixture was too warm or the pan too cold. Chill for 5 minutes and make sure the oil shimmers before anything goes in.

The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the Dijon mustard hydrates as it rests.

Can I double the recipe?

Absolutely, but cook in more batches rather than bigger ones. Crowded pans steam instead of sear.

No furikake? A mix of curry leaves and a little olive oil gets you most of the way there.