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.

 

This is a recipe right out of the Momofuku playbook. It’s also one that requires little work for what you get and can be great as a weeknight meal. It’s luscious and authentic yet not difficult to make! The core of this recipe is the simple chicken broth. Whenever I break down a whole chicken, I use the neck, back, and other ‘extra’ parts to make stock. I’ve come to believe that it’s the best part about buying whole fryers over precut chicken. In this case, I broke down a chicken to make a nice chicken breast Sunday dinner with a mushroom cream sauce and mashed potatoes. I also fried and roasted the legs, thighs, and wings and used the drippings to make the cream sauce then deboned them. I reserved those parts for this soup. I then took everything else and roasted it, then made a nice rich stock. I had thought of making ramen noodles from scratch but found some nice fresh ones at a Japanese supermarket named, Uwajimaya. You can also use those cheap ramen packets that we all ate as college students. In the end, if the stock and other ingredients are well made, even the cheap $0.15 packet of ramen will transform into a marvelous bowl of steamy, unctuous love!

Quick Chicken Ramen

6 cups – Chicken stock

1 Tbsp. – Fresh grated ginger

3-5 Tbsp. – Shiro miso paste (white), or more to taste

6-8 – eggs

2-3 cups – Ramen noodles

2 cups – corn

1 Tbsp. – butter

2 cups – spinach

1/4 cup – sliced sweet onion

2-3 cups – shredded cooked chicken

Sesame Seeds and oil

Chopped scallions

Nori sheets (optional)

Heat a large stock pot with water to 145 degrees. Place several chopsticks in the bottom then place the eggs on top of them (so that the eggs don’t touch the bottom of the pot…I learned this from David Chang’s book). Let the eggs sit at this temperature for about 40 minutes. Do not let the water go above this temp! (Note: In the photo below, the eggs were cooked in a pot that utilizes a colander layer to keep the eggs away from the bottom)

 

Heat the chicken stock to a simmer and add the ginger and Miso. Add the Miso to taste as this should be the primary salt source for the broth. Keep the broth at a simmer until you are ready to serve.

Boil the noodles according the the package directions in salted water until Al Dente. Ramen should be a touch chewy.

Heat a large skillet and add the butter, lightly sauté the corn until heated through.

Blanch the spinach in salted boiling water for 10 seconds or until just wilted.

For each person, place the noodles in the bottom of a large bowl (I have massive noodle bowls for such an occasion!). Crack the eggs onto a plate. The whites will still be very soft and a bit will run off. Allow the runny part to stay on the plate and gently place an egg on top of noodles. Add the onions, chicken, corn, and spinach to the bowl. Ladle a few cups of broth on top. Garnish with scallion, sesame, chili paste, sesame oil, and nori sheets to taste.

The joy of this dish is when you break the soft poached egg into the soup. As the soft yolk gushes out it mixes with the broth, emulsifying it slightly, making the broth rich and unctuous.