Sunday Brunch: Ricotta Fritters
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.
Ricotta Fritters
-Serves 4-6 -
Adapted from Brunch by Marc Meyer and Peter Meehan.
Ingredients
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
Procedure
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.
View other entries from Sunday Brunch.
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2 Comments:
The honey is a traditional syrup for the serving of fried italian fritters.
I usually make the honey warm and add some orange or lemon juice and zest. Very clean flavors.
We call these Sfingi.
JerzeeTomato at 11:52AM on 11/11/07
I'm only just now checking up on my blog reading for the day. Had I been reminded of this recipe earlier, I'd definitely have done sfingi for dessert tonight. A great, easy-to-prepare treat that requires only kitchen staples. And I agree with both Ed and JerzeeTomato re honey vs confectioners' sugar (and extra credit to Jerzee for the additional note that warm honey with a bit of juice and zest works well here). As ever when frying, maintaining the oil at the proper temperature is the key to getting great results with this recipe. A deep-fryer is helpful but not essential - do this often enough in a skillet and you'll develop a sense of how your stove behaves and a good eye for when the oil is ready to go.
slloyddouglass at 9:51PM on 11/11/07