A fritter is a beautiful thing, no matter who's cooking it. Because even a bad fritter, a crunchy, fried, hunk of batter, is still probably going to be pretty good. Marc Meyer, executive chef-restaurateur of three terrific New York restaurants, Five Points, Cookshop, and Provence, makes truly delicious ricotta fritters for brunch. These babies are supremely crunchy, light, crisp on the outside and meltingly soft on the inside.
-Serves 4-6 -
Adapted from Brunch by Marc Meyer and Peter Meehan.
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups ricotta (about 1 pound)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
Corn or canola oil
Confectioners' sugar
1. Beat the eggs, ricotta, and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl. Sift the flour, sugar, and baking powder on top, and fold the mixture together until it is a homogenous if not entirely smooth batter.
2. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Bring 2 inches of oil to 375 degrees in a wide skillet. Add tablespoon-sized lumps of batter to the oil, working in batches as necessary to avoid crowding the pan. Fry the fritters for about 4 minutes, flipping them once mid-fry to ensure that each side turns a deep golden brown.
3. Remove them to a paper towel-lined sheet pan and put the pan in the oven. Let the oil return to temperature (375 degrees) before you fry the next batch. Put your serving platter in the oven to warm before adding the last of the batter to the pan. Serve the fritters on the warmed platter, dusted generously with confectioners' sugar.
Note: I like to the skip the confectioners' sugar (it's messy and unnecessary) and serve these with some high-quality preserves or good honey.
Advertisement will not be printed.