It’s the first Friday in June and you know what means… Happy National Donut Day! A little history just in case you didn’t know, this food holiday started in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army as a means to raise money during the Great Depression and to honor the WWI Salvation Army volunteers who helped prepare baked goods, including donuts, and coffee for soldiers. I wonder if this could possibly be the oldest “food holiday”, I tried to do some research but came up empty-handed. In honor of the day I am sharing with you a recipe for Lemon Ricotta Fritters.
I began by making the batter. In a large bowl I whisked together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Next, I added in lemon zest, eggs, whole milk ricotta cheese and vanilla extract and continued whisking until the ingredients were well combined.
Meanwhile I heated vegetable oil in my Dutch oven over medium low heat to 350 F. I normally use my cast iron skillet to fry things, but, I already had my Dutch oven out and I like that the higher sides of the pot prevent the oil from splattering. Also, I find that the temperature of the oil remains consistent in the Dutch oven throughout the frying process. It’s important to keep the oil around 350 F, any hotter and you could end up with cooked fritters on the outside with raw dough in the middle. Once the batter was ready I used a cookie scoop to drop small amount of dough into the oil and fried them until they were golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side.
I then transferred them to a paper towel lined cookie sheet to drain off the excess oil. Now, these were delicious on their own, they are incredibly light with just enough hint of lemon…
But, if you want a little extra sweetness, while they are still warm, dust them with confectioners’ sugar. I prefer to sift the sugar over them as opposed to rolling them in the sugar so it’s not too thick or clumpy.
If you love the combination of lemon and ricotta, check out these other lemon ricotta recipes:
Lemon Ricotta Fritters
Ingredients:
Vegetable oil, for frying*
2 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
5 large eggs
1 3/4 cups ricotta cheese**
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar for coating
*Can sub with canola or corn oil
**I used whole milk ricotta cheese
Directions:
In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium low heat to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with paper towels to drain the fritters as they come out of the oil.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add in the lemon zest, eggs, ricotta cheese and vanilla extract and continue whisking until the ingredients are well combined.
Using a cookie scoop drop mounds of the batter into the hot oil. Add about 5 to 6 at a time, make sure not to crowd the pot. Fry until the fritters are golden brown. About 3-4 minutes on each side. Check the temperature of the oil periodically. You don’t want the oil to get too hot because then the fritters will cook on the outside but be raw on the inside. Remove from the oil and drain on the paper towel lined cookie sheet. Repeat until the dough is finished.
While the fritters still warm dust with the confectioners’ sugar. You can either roll them in a bowl of the sugar or use a sifter (or a fine mesh sieve) to dust the sugar over the fritters.
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 5 days.
Recipe slightly modified from Domino Sugar
Bead Yarn & Spatula 