Warm ricotta fritters for dessert provides a delicious end to a weekend brunch. Serve with seasonal fruit or drizzled with honey or maple syrup.
My sous-chef Beau Houck’s dedication and talent help keep the kitchen at Five Points going and the quality of the food coming out of it the best it can be. This is one of the many recipes he’s contributed to menus and one of our most popular dishes at brunch. You can serve the ricotta fritters plain, with a ramekin of jam on the side, or drizzled with honey or maple syrup. During the summer, we top them with fresh fruit, such as sliced peaches, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. However you serve with them, make sure the fritters are warm from the pan. That’s when they’re at their best.–Marc Meyer
LC LUMPEN AND LOVELY NOTE
This ricotta fritters recipe calls for you to drop “tablespoon-sized lumps” of batter into the hot oil. Now, take a look at the picture up there. Do they look like lumps to you? Seems like someone’s been taking a little extra time over shaping those beauties. Luckily, we don’t have to do the same thing at home – go ahead and drop the batter in any old way you please. Heck, if you want to try drizzling it in like you would with a funnel cake, go right ahead. The only caveat is to watch your timings – if your fritters are smaller, or thinner, they will cook faster.
Ricotta Fritters
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (about 1 pound) ricotta
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- Grapeseed, corn, canola, or other neutral oil
- Confectioners’ sugar
Directions
- Beat the eggs, vanilla, and ricotta 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.
- Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C).
- Bring 2 inches of oil to 375°F (190°C) 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.
- Remove them to a paper towel-lined sheet pan and put the pan in the oven. Let the oil return to temperature 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.
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Originally published April 15, 2005
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This recipe for fried donuts comes from Italy, which should come as no surprise since the ricotta cheese is a major ingredient. It was traditionally served on the celebration of San Giuseppe. Here is the Italian recipe…it’s simple.
Italian Donuts, Sfinge de San Giuseppe
Makes 20
1 pound whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
5 drops almond extract
6 large eggs
2 cups self-rising flour
Oil for deep-frying at 375°F
Powdered sugar for garnish
Mix the first 7 ingredients together, then add the flour and mix well. Drop by rounded spoonful into the hot oil and fry to golden, being sure the donuts are cooked thru in their middle. Drain well and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with coffee.
Lovely, Stu, thank you!