FLOWER POT KITCHEN: FRIED BUTTER BALLS

27 Jun 2021

FRIED BUTTER BALLS

Great Fried Balls of Butter

That’s right I made these for my dad while on vacation in Florida, my dad used to eat slabs of butter as a snack, not so much nowadays so I thought I would surprise him with these gorgeous over the top wonderful warm bursting balls of creamy garlic butter that for butter lovers is unbelievably heavenly.

These are just so naughty and delicious and definitely a once in a long while treat, but so worth the abstinence! Creamy salted butter loaded with fresh garlic (my dad eats raw garlic cloves like candy!) for a milder garlic flavour roast the bulb and use the sweet garlic purée. You can also add in cream cheese to the butter for a less intense butter and more creamy flavour.

Prep time 10 minutes / Cooking time 3-4 minutes per batch

Ingredients

(makes approx 16-20)

4 sticks of butter

1 bulb of garlic finely chopped

1 egg beaten

1 cup AP flour

1 cup panko breadcrumbs or cornmeal

Combine the butter and garlic together, at this point you can add cream cheese or herbs if you wish, form into balls just over half the size of a golf ball, place on a tray and freeze for one hour.

Set up you dredging station, 3 dishes, one filled with beaten egg, one with flour and one with the panko breadcrumbs.

Heat you oil to 180 C / 350 F and always on the back burner and never leave unattended.

Working fast take the frozen butter balls and roll in the flour, then the egg and finally the panko breadcrumbs, place on a plate while you coat the rest. Gently fry the balls until golden brown, drain on paper towel, leave to rest for 3-5 minutes as WARNING HOT BUTTER BURNS and enjoy these brilliant balls of butter.

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LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.