Fritter.....ing your time away!

Today we have an "F" word.  More specifically, we will be talking about Fritters!

Simply put, a fritter is a small portion of batter which is deep fried.  The origin of the word is "frictura"  a  Latin word which means frying.  Often fritters contain pieces of fruit, meat or vegetables, but can be just plain fried dough.

As with so many foods, every culture (even cultures within cultures) have their own version that are popular to their people.  So is the case with fritters.  Other names for batter that is fried include: 

Beignets so well known to the French culture in Louisiana:

Beignets

Churros is a Spanish fried dough rolled in cinnamon and sugar:

Churros

Filho are fried pieces of dough flavored with anis and orange and enjoyed by the Portuguese during Christmas:

Filho

Sirnik is a Russian fritter made from curd cheese, egg yolks, and a little flour and sugar, used as a breakfast dish:

Sirnik

Samosa is a treasured culinary creation in India which are stuffed with meats and vegetables:

Samosa

And Frybread, a staple of every Native American dinner table:

Frybread

Fritters are commonly sold at fairs and open markets around the world using food combination common to the native culture.  Fritters are best served hot and eaten immediately to experience the best texture and flavor.

Let's face it.  Fried dough is a part of most cultures because....well, what's not to like about fried dough?  And what better way to enjoy fried dough than to make fritters?

A common batter of eggs, milk, and flour is used to create fritter dough.  And there are endless combinations of savory and sweet additions to enhance the culinary experience.  Essentially any ingredient dipped in batter and fried would be considered a fritter.  A fritter that we commonly hear of is an Apple Fritter.  These can be readily found in the doughnut case in the local grocery store.  But there are also corn fritters, and banana fritters, and vegetable fritters (tempura), meat fritters (meat pies), crab fritters (crab cakes), potato fritters (latkes), and on and on.

So how about we get to the making of some fritters?  Let's start with the ever popular and commonly made Corn Fritter.

Corn Fritters

Here's what you will need:

 1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 large eggs, beaten

1/3 cup milk

2 cups corn (either fresh, frozen or canned)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 sweet red pepper, chopped

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 Tablespoonn fresh parsley, chopped

Salt and Pepper 

Oil for frying

Here's what you need to do:

In a medium bowl combine the flour and baking powder together.  Gradually stir in the beaten eggs and milk.  Mix well, but only to combine.  DO NOT OVERMIX.

Stir in the corn, garlic, peppers, onion and parsley.  Mix to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  

Heat oil in a large frying pan until hot.  If you drop a tiny bit of batter in the pan, it should sizzle.  Then your pan is ready.  Drop a tablespoon of batter for each fritter.  Don't over crowd the pan.  Pat each fritter down a bit so it will cook evenly.  Fry each side until golden brown.  Serve immediately.  Makes about 12 fritters.

Now don't think the 2 Prickly Pears forgot about our friends who are gluten free.  You can still have fried dough without using wheat flour. Because we are equal opportunity cooks, we have included a gluten free fritter.  Take a look see:

Zucchini Fritters

Here's what you will need:

2 medium zucchini, grated

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1/4 cup almond flour

1/4 cup grated parmigiana reggiano cheese

2 eggs, beaten

salt and papper

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Oil

Here's what you need to do:

Combine zucchini with sea salt.  Place the zucchini in a clean towel and let rest for 15 minutes.  Then squeeze the towel around the zucchini to get as much liquid out of it as possible.

Place zucchini in bowl and add eggs, onions, almond flour, cheese, lemon juice and pepper.  Mix thoroughly.  

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil to your frying pan over medium heat.  Drop a tiny about of dough in to get that sizzle.  When your pan is ready, drop a tablespoon of dough for each fritter.  Flatter batter and cook until golden brown on each side.  

Garnish with cream fraiche, or apple sauce.

So there is the short story on fritters.  They are yummy and common in their simplest nature.  Every culture has some version of them.  

Now go out and make something good....like fritters!