Frittelle di Ricotta

This recipe came from 'Light of Lucia' by Luciana Sampogna. They look like doughnuts but are much lighter in texture and are just a bit too more-ish.  I have adapted the recipe slightly (only very slightly) by replacing orange liqueur for the juice of fresh oranges, adding honey and adding more grated zest. The only other difference is tossing them in sugar. They also work equally well served warm without the sugar and drizzled with warmed honey and toasted walnuts as a dessert.

Either way they are seriously good and I bet once you start eating them you don't want to stop!

330g Ricotta (drain in a sieve over a bowl for 1 hour before using to remove the liquid content)
3 large Eggs
75g Caster Sugar
1dsp Runny Honey
45ml Orange Juice (freshly squeezed)
Grated zest of 1 Orange
150g Plain Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
Corn Oil (for deep frying)

Whisk the eggs, sugar, zest and orange juice together until thick and frothy.  Fold in the ricotta cheese.  Add the flour and baking powder and whisk until well combined and smooth. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.


To cook the fritters, heat the oil in a deep fat fryer to 170 degrees in temperature. Gently drop the batter (about a tablespoonful) into the oil leaving room for them to expand as they cook.   Cook for around 5 minutes until they are browned in colour and have puffed up.


Drain on paper towels after removing from the oil and then quickly toss in caster sugar. Leave to cool on a cooling rack. 

Sweet Chilli Chicken

This is one of those recipes that happened by accident.  It started off as a Thai red curry and then just grew.  What it resulted in is almost Cantonese style - spicy, sticky and slightly sweet.  

The marinade works well for a BBQ, slow roasting a rack of ribs or ‘zizzing’ up some tiger king prawns and vegetables.  The trick is allowing the sauce to reduce to the right consistency and caramelise.  After that the options are limited only by your imagination.

2 tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste (you can buy it ready made or see below for making it yourself - its much better!)

1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce

Zest and juice of 1 Lime

Small pinch of Caster Sugar

1 tin Coconut Cream

8 Spring Onions (½” pieces)

1 Red Pepper (sliced)

1 Orange/Yellow Pepper (sliced)

½ Cucumber (cut into thick batons)

100g Cashew Nuts

Handful Fresh Coriander

6 Chicken Thighs (boneless and skinless)

Drizzle of Olive Oil

Combine the red curry paste, soy, zest and lime juice, caster sugar, coconut cream in the pan and heat through.  Add the chicken and leave to marinade for at least 2 hours.

When ready to cook the curry, remove the chicken thighs from the marinade and brown lightly in the olive oil on both sides, set aside.

Sauté the peppers and spring onions 3 minutes and add to the chicken.

Place the marinade in an oven and hob proof pan and heat through.  Add the chicken, chicken stock, peppers and spring onions and heat through.

Place in an oven at 180 degrees for 1 hour.  Remove from the oven and check the thighs are cooked through.  The sauce will probably still be quite runny at this stage so place the pan on the hob and bring to the boil.  The sauce will reduce to a dark syrupy consistency which is a little sticky.

Add the toasted cashew nuts and fresh coriander and serve with rice.

Thai Red Curry Paste

You will probably have some of this paste left over.  Just add to coconut milk or cream and meat, fish or vegetables for an authentic Thai curry.

4 Red Chilli’s (medium strength)

2 tsp Coriander Seeds

2 tsp Cumin Seeds

2 tsp chopped Lemon Grass

2 tsp grated Fresh Ginger

1 large Onion

5 cloves Garlic

Juice of 1 Lime

4 dessertspoons Sweet
Paprika

Combine all of  the ingredients together in a food processor or blender and blitz to a paste. This paste will keep in an airtight jar refrigerated for up to 2 months.