Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [284]
2. Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan, and when it just begins to form a ring of tiny bubbles, add it to the eggs, beating it in ¼ cup at a time. When you have added all the milk, put in the lemon peel.
3. In the bottom of the double boiler bring water to the gentlest of simmers, then set the upper part over it. Begin to stir slowly, but steadily. After 15 minutes, you may raise the heat slightly. Continue to cook and stir until the cream is thick and smooth and does not taste of flour, about 20 minutes more. When done, pour the cream out onto a moistened platter, spreading it to a thickness of about 1 inch. Allow it to become cold before proceeding.
4. Cut the cold cream into diamond-shaped pieces 2 inches long. Beat the remaining egg in a soup dish or small bowl. Dredge the pieces of cream in bread crumbs, dip them in the beaten egg, then dredge them in bread crumbs again.
5. Pour enough vegetable oil in a frying pan to come 1 inch up its sides, and turn the heat on to medium high. When the oil is very hot, slip in as many pieces of the breaded cream as will fit loosely. When they have formed a nice golden crust on one side, turn them and do the other side. Transfer to a cooling rack to drain. Repeat the procedure if there are more pieces left over to fry. Serve piping hot or no cooler than lukewarm. If serving as dessert, you may want to sprinkle the cream with a little confectioners’ sugar.
Ahead-of-time note You can store the cream at this point for several hours or until the following day. Refrigerate it under plastic wrap.
Ricotta Fritters
THIS IS ONE of the desserts I have nearly always included in my courses. My students love to eat them, but they are also delighted to find that they can make the batter hours ahead of time, and to see how easy and quick the fritters are to make, even when doubling or tripling the recipe for a crowd.
For 4 servings
½ pound fresh ricotta
2 eggs
⅓ cup flour
1½ tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
The peel of 1 lemon grated without digging into the white pith beneath
Salt
Vegetable oil
Honey of runny consistency
1. Put the ricotta in a bowl and crumble it, using two forks held in one hand.
2. Break the eggs into the bowl, and mix them with the ricotta.
3. Add the flour a little at a time, working it into the ricotta and egg mixture with the two forks held in one hand or with a spatula. Add the butter, lemon peel, and a tiny pinch of salt, swirling them into the mixture and beating until all ingredients of the fritter batter are evenly combined.
4. Set the batter aside and allow it to rest for at least 2 hours, but no more than 3½ hours.
5. Pour enough oil into a frying pan to come ½ inch up its sides, and turn on the heat to medium high. When the oil is quite hot—if a driblet of batter dropped in floats instantly to the surface, it is ready—put in the batter, a tablespoonful at a time. Push the batter off the spoon using the rounded corner of a spatula. Do not put in any more at one time than will fit loosely, without crowding the pan.
6. When the fritters have become colored a golden brown on one side, turn them. If they are not puffing slightly into little balls, the heat is too high. Turn it down a little. When the fritters are brown on both sides, transfer them with a slotted spoon or spatula to a cooling rack to drain. If there is batter left over, repeat the procedure until it is all used.
7. Place the fritters on a serving platter, dribble honey liberally over all of them, and bring to the table. They are best perhaps while still hot, but they are very good even when lukewarm or at room temperature.
Baked Apples with Amaretti Cookies
Amaretti, the Italian macaroons with the bitter-almond, fruit-pit flavor, are a classic accompaniment with Italian baked apples. They come wrapped in pairs, and in two sizes, standard and miniature. The recipe below is based on the standard size.
For 4 servings
4 crisp, tart-sweet apples
9 pairs imported Italian amaretti cookies
4 tablespoons