I'm a fairly new covert to recipes involving ricotta cheese. I had been introduced to it some months back by a some of the recipes Palidor over at Crazy Asian Gal had been posting on her blog. Just one of those ingredients that I never much got into just because of a very limited exposure to it. So when I realized that this recipe was fairly easy not to mention involved honey, one of my favorite versions of sugar, I figured I had to try it. And as my sister was in town, I had a victim (I mean a taste tester) to eat half of them so it if was very good, I wouldn't have to worry about eating them all by myself.
I made this and the lamb chops on the same weekend, pretty much clearing out my supply of canola/vegetable oil in my house.And for the most part, I did like them. Maybe because I have such a massive sweet tooth I was taken aback at how mild the sweetness was. Probably closer to what I should be eating to retrain my taste buds to enjoy more subtle flavors. I thought the fritter itself was wonderfully light in texture and flavor.I think I might also try to add a little more lemon zest next time to give it a bit more pop on the taste buds or maybe even sprinkle a bit of cinnamon into the fritter dough itself before frying it.
RICOTTA FRITTERS (MARCELLA HAZAN)
1/2 lb fresh ricotta
2 eggs
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 tbsp butter, softened to room temperature
Peel of one lemon grated
salt
vegetable oil
Honey
Place ricotta in bowl and crumble. Break eggs into bowl andmix with ricotta. Add flour a little at a time, working it into the ricotta/egg mixture. Add butter,lemon peel and pinch of salt and mix until evenly combined.
Rest batter for 2 1/2 hours (no longer than 3 1/2 hours - why? She didn't say.)
Pour oil to come up 1/2 inch of pan you are using. Turn heat to medium high. Drop dough into hot oil. Flip in pan when golden brown on one side. Turn heat down if fritters are NOT puffing. Transfer with slotted spoon to cooling rack to drain. Drizzle honey and serve hot.
