Spiced corn and scrumpy fritters

Serves 4-6

These are great little snacks served with drinks or as an accompaniment to grilled meats or poultry. I discovered recently that you can make fantastic batter using Doves Farm gluten-free self-raising flour, after Marcus Verberne, my chef at Brown's Hotel, happened to be cooking a gluten-free meal for his wife Jo; he was delighted with the Doves Farm produce.

You could serve these with a dip such as crème fraîche mixed with some chopped coriander and grated lime zest; or whatever takes your fancy.

150g cooked sweetcorn kernels, chopped
3tbsp chopped chives
tsp dried Japanese red chilli flakes or a small red chilli, finely chopped
120g Doves Farm gluten-free self-raising flour, or equivalent
About 120-150ml scrumpy or dry cider
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable or corn oil for deep frying

Mix the sweetcorn, chives, chilli and flour together and add enough scrumpy to make a thick batter. Season the mix and leave to rest for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat about 8cm of oil to 160-180C in a large thick-bottomed saucepan or electric deep-fat fryer. Drop a teaspoon of the mixture into the hot fat and cook for a minute or so until golden, turning it with a slotted spoon as it's cooking, and drain on some kitchen paper.

Check the seasoning and if the mix is a little stodgy, then just let it down with some more scrumpy.

If you want to make them in advance, you can cook the fritters in a few batches without colouring them completely; then you can just return them to the hot fat when required.