Sweet Ricotta Fritters with Orange Honey Syrup

Ingredients

250 g firm ricotta
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1–2 Tbs milk
2 Tbs caster sugar, plus 1 Tbs extra to serve
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
100 g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
Mild-tasting vegetable oil for shallow-frying

Orange-honey syrup:

55 g caster sugar
2 Tbs freshly
Squeezed orange juice (ensure you grate the zest for the fritters before juicing)
1 Tbs honey

Method

First, make the orange-honey syrup, if desired. Put the sugar, 60 ml of water and the orange juice in a small saucepan and bring slowly to the boil to dissolve the sugar. Add the honey and simmer for 2–3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to a low heat (170°C/160°C fan-forced) to keep the fritters warm once cooked. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, eggs, 1 tablespoon of the milk, the caster sugar and orange zest. If your ricotta is really dry you may need to add the extra tablespoon of milk. Sift the flour and baking powder into the ricotta mix and stir gently to combine.

Fill a medium saucepan with oil to a depth of 3–4 cm, then warm the oil over a medium heat. Drop half a teaspoon of batter into the oil, if it bubbles and rises to the surface the oil is hot enough. Carefully drop dessert-spoonfuls of mixture into the hot oil (this is easiest done using two spoons, using the second spoon to scrape the mixture off the first). Fry for about 2 minutes, until golden, turning once during cooking and keeping an eye on the oil temperature as you cook each batch. Check when the batter goes into the pan that it doesn’t stick to the bottom – if it does, just give it a gentle nudge to dislodge. Remove the fritters from the pan with a slotted spoon, transfer them to paper towel and keep them warm in the oven while cooking the remaining fritters.

To serve, sprinkle the fritters with caster sugar and drizzle over the orange-honey syrup (if using).

Credits: This is an edited extract from Dinner Like a Boss by Katy Holder published by Hardie Grant Books RRP $29.99 and is available in stores nationally.

Photo Credits: Benito Martin