Aji Amarillo Sweetcorn Fritters Recipe
By Victoria Glass
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10 minutes prep time
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10 minutes cook time
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Easy
Aji amarillo, also known as the mirasol or simply ‘yellow chilli’, is a mild Peruvian chilli with a warm, fruity aroma. It’s a common ingredient across western South America, where you’ll often see it used in marinades, spice rubs and stews.
Aji amarillo has a lingering, fragrant heat that works brilliantly with creamy sauces, squash and root vegetables. Add to cream or a roux for white sauce to make creamed spinach with a subtle chilli warmth. Use aji amarillo powder to season a butternut squash soup, or dust over carrots and parsnips before roasting.
A fun way to start a party with friends informally snacking in the kitchen. The sunshine-coloured aji amarillo chilli adds a lingering and fragrant heat to these fritters.
Ingredients Serves: 10
- 200g tinned sweetcorn
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 4 finely chopped spring onions
- 1 finely diced red pepper
- the finely grated zest of ½ lime
- the juice of 1 whole lime
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- a small bunch of finely chopped fresh coriander
- ¼ tsp salt
- 75g potato starch
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 8g aji amarillo powder or finely ground Amazon chilli pepper
- 75g cold sparkling water
- sunflower oil to frying
- Flaky sea salt for serving
Method
- Drain the tinned sweetcorn and tip into a large mixing bowl. Add garlic clove, minced, spring onions, red pepper, lime zest, the juice a lime, ground cumin, fresh coriander and salt, and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, stir together potato starch (often called potato flour – it is a very fine white powder like cornflour), bicarbonate of soda, aji amarillo powder and cold sparkling water to make a thick paste.
- Pour the potato starch paste into the vegetable bowl and mix thoroughly.
- Heat 3-inches of sunflower oil in a heavy-based saucepan until it reaches 180°C, or until a small piece of bread sizzles when dropped into the oil.
- Working in batches, carefully lower tablespoons of the corn mixture into the hot oil and fry for about 3-4 minutes, or until a deep golden colour.
- Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt before serving.
About the author
Victoria Glass is a London based writer and recipe developer. She has written six cookbooks, including Too Good To Waste and has contributed to various print and online media including The Sunday Times, Great British Chefs, Delicious. Magazine, Women’s Health and The Evening Standard. She has been featured regularly on regional BBC Radio as a food and drink expert and was Food Writer in Residence at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre. Victoria once cooked her way through the alphabet in a year for a project called Alphabet Soup, so she certainly knows her artichokes from her elbow.
