Food blogger Paola Bacchia, author of italyonmymind.com.au, spent three weeks in Italy to collect the best recipes for his latest release "Italian Street Food" published by Smith Street Books.
While browsing in a market in Trieste, a seaport town in Northeastern Italy, she ate apple fritters as they were being fried and she fell in love. Fritole di mele are traditionally made around Carnevale (the period preceding Lent) but nowadays they are found throughout the year.
Later Paola shared her mother's recipe in her book; the method is not traditional, but they work well as long as you adjust the mixture with a bit of extra flour (if your egg is larger than most or if the apple is particularly juicy). The dough is fairly wet but should remain in an approximate ball when you drop tablespoons of the mixture in hot oil. I use grappa-soaked sultanas in this recipe (I always have a jar in the fridge), but if you do not have grappa or do not like the taste, use brandy or even warm water.
Recipe: Fritole triestine
1 egg
60 ml (2 fl oz/1/4 cup) full-cream (whole) milk
125 g (4½ oz) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus 1–2 tablespoons extra, if needed
1 scant teaspoon baking powder
50 g (13/4 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons sultanas (golden raisins), soaked in 60 ml (2 fl oz/1/4 cup) grappa, brandy or warm water for 15 minutes
1 tart green apple, such as granny smith, peeled and cored
zest of ½ large orange
zest of ½ large lemon
grapeseed, peanut or sunflower oil, for frying
Place the egg and milk in a small bowl and whisk with a fork. Place the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a medium-sized bowl and whisk to combine. Mix the egg and milk into the flour and stir until it is homogenous. Drain and squeeze the sultanas and grate the apple. Add these to the dough along with the zests and stir well to combine – the mixture should be thick but pourable. Add a bit of extra flour if it is too liquid. Heat 4–5 cm (11/2–2 in) oil in a heavy-based saucepan (or use a deep-fryer) to 170°C (340°F) or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil sizzles in 5 seconds. Using two metal tablespoons dipped in the hot oil, pick up a ball of mixture with one spoon, and push it into the hot oil with the other spoon. The balls should be as big as an apricot. Don’t worry if you get little trails of dough. Cook 3–4 at a time, depending on the size of your pan, for about 4 minutes, until golden brown all over. Drain on kitchen towel and break open a fritola to check that it is cooked through. If it isn’t, reduce the temperature of your oil slightly and wait a minute or two. Once the fritole have cooled slightly, dust with icing sugar and serve warm.
Fritole are best eaten on the day they are made.
And... Buon appetito!
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