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Frittelle di Ricotta
(Emilia-Romagna)
Ricotta Fritters Makes 4 passatempo servings
Fritelle or frictelle are small fritters, fried foods, of
great variety that were very popular in the Middle Ages and often sold from
street vendors. The anonymous fourteenth century Venetian cookery book Libro per
cuoco has an important-sounding recipe called fritelle da imperadore magnifici
(the magnificent emperor's fritter) that is quite similar to this contemporary
preparation. In the fourteenth century, they made it with fresh cheese, beaten
egg whites, flour, and pine nuts and sprinkled it with sugar when finished.
Today, these simple fritters are considered a passatempo, a kind of small
cocktail snack had with a drink before any formal dining begins.
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1 cup fresh ricotta cheese |
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3/4 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
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Salt to taste |
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1 large egg |
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1 tablespoon dry Marsala wine or rum
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6 cups olive oil, olive pomace oil, or
canola oil for deep-frying |
1. In a medium-size bowl, blend the ricotta, flour, salt, egg,
and Marsala wine with a fork. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest for 30
minutes in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat the frying oil in a deep-fryer or an 8-inch
saucepan fitted with a basket insert to 375 degrees F. Deep-fry several
soupspoonfuls of the ricotta dough at a time without crowding the fryer until
golden, about 4 to 5 minutes, turning if necessary. Let drain on paper towels.
Let the frying oil cool completely, strain through a porous paper filter and
save the oil for a future use.
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