Ricotta fritters with orange blossom

We were inspired to create these fritters by a traditional Sicilian recipe that included candied citrus peel and flower water – certainly a nod to the island’s Arabic past. Unlike the original yeasted version, ours is a blissfully simple ricotta fritter. We’ve added chocolate, which is lovely with the citrus, and an adult splash of Grand Marnier. We like the contrasting temperature of a chilled syrup (or use runny honey) for dunking.

Makes around 20

INGREDIENTS:

225 g fresh ricotta

50g golden caster sugar 30ml Grand Marnier (or use orange juice)

1 egg, plus 1 yolk

Zest of 1 orange

40g good-quality dark chocolate (50–60% cocoa solids), chopped or broken into small pieces

40g mixed candied citrus peel, chopped

75g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder Sunflower or vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Icing sugar, for dusting honey, to serve (optional) Orange blossom syrup 250 g caster sugar 100ml water

1 cinnamon stick

1 vanilla bean, split lengthways and seeds scraped

2 tsp orange blossom water

METHOD:

To make the syrup, combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat gently, stirring from time to time, until the sugar has dissolved. Once the liquid is clear, bring to the boil, then lower the heat, add the cinnamon and vanilla and simmer briskly for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool, then stir in the orange blossom water. Chill until required. The syrup will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 month.

Combine the ricotta, sugar, liqueur, egg and yolk and orange zest in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Stir in the chocolate and candied peel. Sift on the flour and baking powder and mix to combine. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

When ready to cook, pour the oil into a heavy-based saucepan or deep- fryer to a depth of around 10 cm and heat to 180°C. If you don’t have a thermometer, the oil will have reached temperature when it is shimmering and when a small cube of bread sizzles up to the surface in 10–15 seconds.

Form the fritter batter into round quenelles with soup spoons. Drop into the oil in batches of 3–4 and fry for 3–4 minutes, until golden brown. Move them around in the oil Chocolate and orange make perfect partners in these light-asa-feather fritters with a slotted spoon so they colour evenly.

Scoop the fritters out and drain briefly on paper towel. Dust with icing sugar and serve straight away, with syrup and honey, if using, on the side for dunking. Recipe adapted from Suqar (Hardie Grant)