Sunday 31 December 2017

Signing off with a spam fritter

So tomorrow is our last day as Barbican residents... On Tuesday 2nd January 2018 we are moving 6 miles (as the crow flies; about 50 miles in emotional distance) to the Cator estate in Blackheath. Our new home is a Span House, designed Eric Lyons and built in the 50s and 60s - it's an open plan modernist house with floor to ceiling windows, glass doors and lots of light and space. Sound familiar? In fact, it's been described as a piece of the Barbican plonked in a garden, so all our beautiful midcentury modern stuff will fit right in. 

But there are lots of things I will miss about the Barbican. Underfloor heating for one - why doesn't everyone have it?! A separate loo. The cute handbasin in the loo with integral loo roll holder - genius. The library - a two minute undercover walk from the front door (what a geek!). And of course the kitchen. That hatch! The indestructible stainless steel worktop. Glass sliding doors on the cupboards. And four hobs in a row (although actually, four gas rings in a square will be a lot easier to use!). 


But before I start wailing, there's time for one more recipe. Fortunately for you, not one of the random "using up the freezer" dishes if the last few days but a real classic: spam fritters. The Bearded Argentinian was gifted a tin of spam by Dr Gemma on becoming a British citizen earlier this year and weirdly enough, we haven't cracked it open yet. We packed all the cookbooks days ago so I'm making this up.

Ingredients
(Serves 4 - 2 fritters each)

1 tin of Spam
125g plain flour
125ml beer (or water or milk; obviously I used beer - there was one bottle left in the fridge)
Salt & pepper
Oil for frying



Method

1. Open the tin of spam and extract the "meat" using a sharp knife. Cut into 8 slices

2. Whisk together the flour and beer to make a thick smooth batter; season generously 


3. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a frying pan. When ready, dip each slice of spam into the batter, shake off any excess and drop into the hot fat



4. Fry for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown all over. Remove for the pan and drain on some kitchen roll


Serve with hot buttery mash and Heinz baked beans. They're actually really tasty and crispy (although probably not very healthy). A memorable New Year's Eve meal if nothing else.


And that's it from four hobs in a row. There will be a Barbican Cookbook featuring recipes from the blog and a few new ones, plus stories about living in the estate and the people I've met here. And there will be a new blog; once we're settled into the new space, I'll see what inspires me. There may be a dog involved so watch this space... (not this space, which is at this moment full of boxes! - maybe check Instagram). Happy New Year!