Recipe: Ricotta Fritters

Image from backyardpizzeria.blogspot.com.au

Someone commented last week asking for the recipe for my ricotta fritters.  You won't be surprised to know that in my hands the recipe has altered somewhat.  Oh, the basic recipe remains the same, but the original recipe calls for 2 cups of fresh herbs.  My family are not herb lovers.  These days I put a handful of chives in.  Or none at all.  And true to their anti-herb tastes, my family prefers the herb-free version.  Me?  I love fresh herbs, so as long as I have chives growing and there is no rain that's what they get.  They love rainy days when ricotta fritters are on the menu because I won't go out to get the chives!

The other alteration I make is that I flatten these into patties and shallow fry them in a non-stick pan.  And I would stress here that your pan really needs to be non stick.  Otherwise you'll have trouble turning them.  I made about 15 fritters the other night so I had some leftovers for lunch yesterday.  Yum.

Herbed Ricotta Fritters

500g fresh ricotta cheese

2 egg yolks (I use 1 whole egg)

1/2 cup self0raising flour

2 cups mixed fresh herbs, chopped

(eg flat-leaf parsley, oregano, rosemary, chives)

150g parmesan cheese, finely grated

vegetable oil for shallow frying

1. Place ricotta in a sieve over a medium bowl.  Cover and refierate for 1 hour to allow excess moisture to drain from ricotta (I skip this step).  Drain, wash and dry bowl.  Spoon ricotta into the bowl.  Add egg yolks.  Mix until well combined.  Add flour, herbs and 1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir until well combined.
2. Preheat oven to 160C.  Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Using 1 heaped talbespoon of mixture per fritter, cook fritters in batches of 4, turning often with a metal spoon, for 3 minutes or until golden**.  Transfer to a wire rack over a baking tray.  Keep warm in oven while cooking the remaining fritters.
3. Place fritters on a plate.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Serve.

**I use my regular non-stick frypan with a liberal covering of oil across the base.  The whole batch fits in my pan so I don't have to cook in batches or keep them warm in the oven.

Enjoy!

Recipe source:  Super Food Ideas, April 2007