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Recipe

Rosette Fritters

Serves

4

Active Time

25 MIN

Origin

ALENTEJO

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Rosette Fritters

During tomato season, there are no bad cooks.

— PORTUGUESE SAYING

The word filhós or filhó designates so many different things that it must be specified that these are the ones made using an iron specially designed for them. They can take the shape of a flower, hence the word floreta that gives this recipe its name, but they can also look like an animal, a butterfly for example. They are made especially at Christmas, and in Beira Baixa, they are generally called coscorões. With just 150 g of flour, you get an immense batch; it seems never-ending. They yield a lot and taste delicious when fried in Portuguese olive oil, which can be either a regular olive oil or a virgin olive oil. Note: Frying in olive oil, contrary to popular belief, does not end up more expensive than frying with other fats. You can reuse the same olive oil to fry up to 8 times, whereas other fats should not be used more than 4 or 5 times.

THE RECIPE

Ingredients

Serves 4

  1. 150 g of flour
  2. ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
  3. 1 pinch of fine salt
  4. 4 eggs
  5. 1.5 dl of milk
  6. 2 tablespoons of aguardente (grape brandy/firewater)
  7. Zest of 1 lemon
  8. Olive oil for frying (virgin or regular)
  9. Sugar and cinnamon for dusting (optional)

Preparation

Sift the flour, cinnamon, and salt together into a deep bowl. Separately, mix the whole eggs with the milk, aguardente, and lemon zest. Whisk them well together without beating, and add this liquid mixture to the flour, again without beating, so as to prevent the batter from becoming elastic. Let this batter rest for at least half an hour. Heat the olive oil, which should be at least 5 cm deep in the pan. Dip the special iron mold into the hot olive oil, and when the oil is very hot (approximately 180 °C), drain the iron well and dip it immediately into the batter, taking care not to let the batter overflow the top edge of the iron. Immediately submerge the iron back into the hot olive oil, letting the batter fry and release itself. While frying, always keep a fork handy to prevent the batter from swelling up over the iron, which would stop the fritter from releasing. Drain on absorbent paper and dust with sugar and cinnamon, or just sugar.