Cauliflower Fritters.
This is an incredibly delicious way to eat cauliflower in between seasons.
Fritelle di cavolfiore.
Simple fritters seasoned with basil, this recipe is a nod to warm days as well as warm comforts.
Different versions of this dish can be found across Southern Italy and Sicily, utilising different herbs and seasoning. An unpretentious execution with an unpretentious vegetable, this is a dish firmly rooted in the peasant cookery of the South: humble, honest and made with few ingredients, true to its ethos it makes a little go a long way.
Whilst not everybody is a fan of cauliflower, almost everyone loves fritters.
Almost everyone perhaps except some cooks, inclined to shy away from frying. Whilst it is not an easy discipline – some might say the hardest - it is simple, and mastering a few facts and details makes all of the difference: such as frying in the right oil and at the right temperature. Done correctly, ensuring not too much oil is absorbed during and after the cooking process, frying can become almost a pleasant activity, a mildly indulgent but entirely acceptable treat and a hugely effective way to abate a crowd of picky eaters.
Bite-size, soft and sumptuous fried morsels are sure winner, in almost any kitchen or on any table across the world.
Combing the cauliflower with Parmesan and Pecorino cheese renders the cauliflower very gentle and creamy, making it somewhat indecipherable. Hence making this a great recipe for cauliflower’s lesser fans. Italians call this result goloso –in English loosely translated as something between devouring and sating.
This is a dish that is delicious eaten cold. Piled high on a serving plate and offered as a snack or a filler before a main event, it makes a very straightforward but pleasing platter, for all the senses. Especially good for large groups or busy and bustling families, fritters keep comfortably in the fridge for a few days.
They will make a decent lunch served with a simple but well-dressed salad. Or can be combined with an endless and varied array of antipasti, given the incredibly versatile nature of the simple flavours of this recipe.
In Sicily they would be served with any typical number; in addition to local cheeses and salamis there might be an aubergine caponata, stewed squid or cold octopus, marinated anchovies, capers, olives and other preserves. There is very little that cannot be served alongside, before or after this dish.
Uncomplicated and neighbourly, fritters are the brownies of the savoury world.
RECIPE.
Cauliflower, 1, the white kind
Pecorino, 100g
Parmesan, 100g
Flour, 100g
Egg, 1
Basil, 10 leaves
Peanut oil, for frying (or sunflower oil).
Cut up the cauliflower into smaller pieces, put in a pan and add just enough water to cover, salt and bring to boil.
Cook until well cooked (about 15-20 minutes) – a butter knife will slide in without any resistance.
Drain leaving a small amount of cooking water in the pan.
Add the grated pecorino, Parmesan, flour and basil, broken up into small pieces with your hands.
Break and whisk an egg with a fork and add to the mixture to combine. The mixture should not be to runny nor too compact.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Heat a pan of peanut oil, about one fingerful deep in quantity.
Once it starts to sizzle, with the help of two spoons form the shape of fritters and drop directly into the pan.
Fry until golden on both sides.
Remove with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper.
Leave to cool and serve at room temperature, sprinkled with some extra basil leaves.
For a more wintery version, swap the basil for some nutmeg.
