Back when I was making massive amounts of cannoli to take to friends for the holidays, I made a bunch of extra ricotta that I needed to use up. A great use of ricotta is by making ricotta fritters. Fritters are a tasty Italian tradition similar to funnel cakes. They are also simple to make (it usually takes longer to heat the oil than it does to prep the batter). They make a fun (not-so-light) snack and can be great as a quick dessert to make for unexpected guests.

Ingredients

1 cup – ricotta (homemade is always best, but store-bought will do just fine in this case)

1 tsp. – lemon zest, finely grated

1 1/2 tsp. – vanilla extract (optional)

1/2 tsp. – ground nutmeg

2 Tbsp. – sugar

2 – large eggs

3/4 cup – All purpose flour

1/2 tsp. – kosher salt

2 tsp. – baking powder

optional milk for thinning

optional powdered sugar for dusting

1/2 cup – chocolate sauce (see recipe below)

 

Heat frying oil in a fryer or large heavy pan, you should use enough oil to be 2-3 inches deep in the pan. Heat to 370 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix together the ricotta, lemon zest, vanilla, nutmeg, sugar, and eggs as seen below.

Now add the flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix until it just comes together. It should be the consistency of thick pancake batter/brownie batter. If it’s too thick, add a little milk to thin it out.

Using a tablespoon (I use a 1 Tbsp. ice cream baller which works wonders!) carefully drop little dollops of the batter into the heated oil. If it stretches out into odd flat shapes then your batter is too thin (add a hint more flour), if it is raw in the middle when the outside is cooked, then it is too thick (add a little milk). Working in batches, fry all of the batter into fritters until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with chocolate sauce for dipping.

Chocolate Sauce

1 cup – semi sweet chocolate

1/2 cup – butter, at room temperature

2 Tbsp. – Flavored syrup of choice, optional (example: Torani Butter Pecan Flavored Syrup)

 

Chop chocolate into small pieces and place in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir the chocolate until smooth. If it is still lumpy then return to the microwave for 30 second intervals at 50% power until almost smooth then stir until smooth. Add the butter and stir until well incorporated. Optionally add flavored syrup and stir well to incorporate.