Frittelle di Ricotta e Arancia  con Marmellata di Albicocche e Zafferano / Orange Ricotta Fritters with Apricot and Saffron Infused Jam

Frittelle di Ricotta are so easy and quick to prepare. They are a dream for breakfast or an afternoon tea.

I always choose to use just enough of flour, allowing the ricotta to play the main part, therefore be careful and patent when frying the frittelle, they like to brown quickly especially when the heat is even slightly too high.

Leave your ricotta in a sieve for about 40 minutes or so. That way you can deal with the excess of water, if the ricotta is too watery.

You can also pass the ricotta through a sieve for a smoother consistency as well as whisk the egg white and fold into the batter at the very end for an extra lift.

Serves 4:

• 500 g of ricotta
• 1 egg
• finely grated zest from a small organic orange
• 50 g of plain flour, sifted
• 3 flat tablespoons of icing sugar
• a pinch of salt
• vegetable oil for frying (or a very delicate in flavour olive oil)

For the saffron infused apricot jam or marmalade:

• about 80 g of apricot jam
• a generous pinch of saffron threads

Spoon the apricot jam into s mall saucepan and add the saffron threads.

Set the saucepan on a medium heat an warm the jam so that it begins to bubble allowing the saffron to work its magic and infuse the jam with its scent.

Take it off the heat and set it to one side allowing the flavours to develop.

In the meantime prepare the frittelle:

Whisk the ricotta with the icing sugar.

Add the sifter flour, one egg, orange zest and a pinch of salt.

Whisk everything thoroughly until well combined.

Pour a little bit of oil into a non-stick frying pan and heat it up on a medium heat.

Once the oil is hot enough for frying, take out a generous tablespoon of the batter and gently drop it on the pan, pressing it ever so slightly. Don’t overcrowd the pan with the frittelle.

Fry on a medium to low heat for a few minutes on each side, carefully flipping them over, until dark golden in colour.

Once you’ve fried all the fritelle, warm the jam on a low heat and spoon over the frittelle. Enjoy them whilst still warm.