Courgette, ricotta and pecorino fritters
40 MINUTES + DRAINING SERVES 6 | EASY
This is an indulgence, an unnecessary course, but the one that everyone will love you for because it’s fried things… Eat these standing round the cooker, hot from the frying pan.
ricotta 170g
courgettes 500g, coarsely
grated garlic 2 cloves, finely sliced
spring onions 4, finely sliced
eggs 2 large, lightly beaten
lemon 1, grated to make 2 tsp zest
pecorino 50g, finely grated
plain flour 90g
olive oil for frying
lemon wedges to serve
dill a small handful, to serve
• Put the ricotta into a sieve lined with a piece of clean muslin, set over a bowl, and chill for a couple of hours to allow the moisture to drain off. Put the grated courgettes into another piece of muslin or a clean tea towel (you’ll need to do this in batches) and pull the cloth around them to form a bag. Squeeze out as much of the excess water as possible, really twisting and pressing the bag with your hands.
• In a large bowl, combine the drained ricotta, courgettes, garlic, spring onions, eggs, lemon zest, pecorino and some seasoning. Mash everything together with a fork and add the flour. The mix should be soft, but not runny.
• Line a large baking sheet with kitchen paper. In a large frying pan, heat 1cm of olive oil until you can see it shimmering. Working in batches, add 2 tbsp of the batter to the hot oil, to make a 7.5cm fritter. Add 3 or 4 fritters to the pan at once, but don’t overcrowd it. Fry over a medium-high heat for 3 minutes, turning once, until browned and crisp. Drain the fritters on kitchen paper, sprinkle with salt and serve straight away with lemon wedges and dill, while you quickly fry the rest. Or keep warm in a low oven while you cook the rest and serve them all as soon as the last fritter comes out of the pan.
PER SERVING 266 KCALS | FAT 18.3G SATURATES 5.6G | CARBS 13.9G | SUGARS 2.2G FIBRE 1.9G | PROTEIN 10.6G | SALT 0.5G