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Frittelle di Riso (Traditional Italian Sweet Rice Fritters)
Sweet Rice Fritters is a traditional Italian dessert, typical of central Italy, particularly Tuscany and Sicily, where they are called "Sfinci di Riso".In Italy we use to make this dessert for carnival and also for St. Joseph's Day, March 19.The use of rice in Italian cooking mainly involves savory recipes: casseroles, risottos and soups. So when people talk about Italian rice fritters, they immediately think of the very famous and delicious Arancini recipe, made with meat sauce or stringy cheese.
2tablespoonsgranulated sugar+ more for decoration (½ cup total)
2tablespoonsflour
1teaspoonbaking powder
30graisins3 tablespoons
¾teaspoonsalt
30gunsalted butter~⅓ stick of
500mlmilk2 cups
1lemonzest
1literoil~4 cups of peanut oil or canola, for deep-frying
Instructions
In a small saucepan, combine the milk, 2 tablespoons of sugar and butter.
Add the lemon zest to the milk. Stir well and cook over low heat.
When the butter and sugar are melted, add the rice.
Cook over medium heat until the rice has completely absorbed the milk. This will take about 15 minutes.
Once cooked, place the rice in a bowl and let it cool.
When the rice has cooled, sift the flour and baking powder and add them to the rice. Add the salt.
Add the whole egg and the raisins. Mix everything together, making sure the ingredients are well mixed with the rice.
Heat the oil in a narrow, high-sided frying pan. This will allow the mixture to be well immersed in the oil during frying.
PLEASE NOTE: The oil is ready for frying when the temperature is between 150°C (300°F) and 180°C (350°F). If you don't have a kitchen thermometer, dip a toothpick into the hot oil. When bubbles form around the toothpick, the oil is ready to fry.
Using a spoon, scoop out the batter and drop it into the hot oil. Cook a maximum of 4 or 5 pancakes at a time.
Fry the sweet rice fritters until golden brown. Be careful not to burn them while frying. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon.
Place them on paper towels to remove any excess oil. Finally, prepare a tray of granulated sugar and roll the hot sweet rice fritters in it. Enjoy them immediately!