Sweet rice fritters with raisins are made in various regions and, from what I’ve seen, the recipe varies from city to city or even from house to house. They typically appear in mid-March with the approach of Father’s Day, filled with raisins, pine nuts, cinnamon, apples, orange, and lemon, but they’re good all year round. Alternatively or simultaneously, you can also serve sweet clouds .
Delicious and delightful in every way they are made, besides being simple to make, because you just need to cook the rice in milk, then mix it with eggs and flour, add the raisins, and a nice grating of lemon zest. Form balls with a spoon and fry the rice fritters in plenty of oil and finally finish by dusting them with powdered sugar. They are exquisite at any time of the day and with this quantity, you can choose to make 25 medium fritters (tablespoon size) or 40 small fritters (teaspoon size).
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Portions: 30Pieces
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 300 Arborio rice
- 2 cups milk
- 1.7 cups water
- 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 lemons
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 packet baking powder for desserts
- 2/3 cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon marsala (or rum or sweet liquor of choice)
- 2 cups peanut oil (for frying)
- to taste powdered sugar + flavors: vanilla or cinnamon
Steps
1 – In a small pot, pour the milk, water, sugar, a pinch of salt, and a whole lemon peel. Also, add the rice and cook it on medium-low heat until it has absorbed all the liquid. Stir occasionally with a spoon to prevent sticking to the bottom. Then turn off the heat and let it cool and rest for 2 hours in a bowl.
2 – Beat the eggs with the flour, add the baking powder for desserts, and vanilla extract (or if you like, also cinnamon). Meanwhile, soak the raisins in some warm water to refresh them.
3 – Pour the batter with the eggs onto the rice, add the drained raisins, 1 or 2 tablespoons of marsala (or another sweet liquor of your choice), and the finely grated lemon peel. Mix the rice mixture well and let it rest for 15 minutes.
4 – In a frying pot, pour the oil and heat it. Using a tablespoon as a measure for a medium fritter, spoon out the rice and fry the balls for 2 minutes until golden brown. Drain the fritters with a spider strainer and place them on a tray, finally dust with powdered sugar before serving.
