Pasta Fritters

Recipe

Preparation1 hours 0 minutes
Cook time20 minutes
ServingsMakes about 12
Episode1774
44,182

Ingredients

    For the Béchamel:
  • 4 Tbsp of All Purpose Flour
  • 4 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter
  • 2 cups of Milk
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Pinch of Nutmeg (optional)
  • For the filling:
  • 8oz of Bucatini, uncooked and broken into small pieces
  • 1/2 cup of Frozen Peas
  • 2 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 Clove of Garlic, smashed and peeled
  • 3oz of Mozzarella, dry packed, diced
  • 3oz of Deli Ham, diced
  • 1/2 cup of Grated Parm
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • For the coating:
  • 1 cup of all All Purpose Flour
  • I/2 cup or so of Water
  • 2 cups of Breadcrumbs
  • Pinch of Salt
  • Vegetable or Light olive oil for shallow frying

Preparation

    1) Start by making the béchamel. In a saucepan, add the butter, melt over medium heat, then add the flour, cook while stirring for about a minute, then add in the milk and cook while continually whisking until it thickens, then season with salt, pepper and nutmeg if using, set aside.

    2) Boil the pasta in salted water, while it cooks, sauté the peas.

    3) In a skillet, add the olive oil and garlic, sauté over medium heat until it begins to sizzle, then add the peas and a pinch of salt, sauté for about 5 minutes then set aside to cool a bit. At this point the pasta should be cooked, then drain and shock it under cold water to stop the cooking process.

    4) In a large bowl, mix together the pasta with the béchamel, peas (discard the garlic) mozzarella, ham, parm and a grew groundings of black pepper, make sure its all well mixed then add it to your prepared pan, pat it down to make sure it's even and flat, cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 48 hours.

    5) When ready, get your breeding station ready. In a shallow bowl, mix together the flour and water (add the water slowly) so it resembles the texture of light pancake batter, set aside, meanwhile in a separate shallow bowl, add the breadcrumbs and season with some salt, set aside.

    6) Using a 3†cookie or biscuit cutter (you can make these slightly smaller if you want) cut the fritters out, any straggly pieces can be formed into patties so nothing gets wasted, then dip them in the batter followed by the breadcrumbs and set aside for 10 minutes, meanwhile add some frying oil to a skillet and preheat it between medium and medium high heat.

    7) Fry the fritters in batches, mine cooked for about 3 minutes per side, you can't them to be a deeply golden brown color and cheese melted all the way through, drain on a wire rack and be ready to dive in!

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