Tapas Thursday: Artichoke and Asparagus Fritters with Olive Relish

Another delicious Tapas meal that is vegetarian and incorporates so many fresh and healthy ingredients. The olive relish is the perfect addition to the little fritters. There's no salt added to the fritter batter due to the briny olives. I added a little lemon zest to the batter as well as to the olive relish.

Let's make the olive relish first:

1/2 cup pitted green olives, finely chopped

1/2 pitted black olives, finely chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 T. finely chopped fresh chives

1 T. olive oil

1 T. lemon juice

1/4 t. lemon zest

Combine the ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside until ready to serve.

Now let's make our fritters:

1/2 lb. asparagus, trimmed, finely chopped

4 oz. artichoke hearts, in brine, drained, finely chopped

2 eggs

2 T. finely chopped fresh mint

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup self-rising flour

vegetable oil for shallow frying

Combine asparagus, artichoke, eggs, mint, cheese and flour in a medium bowl. 

Heat oil in a large, shallow skillet.  Shallow fry heated tablespoons of fritter batter in batches until browned all over and cooked through.

Drain on paper towels. Serve hot with olive relish.