Pumpkin and potato fritters in a pan, crispy and golden, the color of the sun which, alas, in autumn here in the Po Valley is quite scarce. They are a tasty and very delicious side dish. These veggie-non-veggie balls are also much loved by children who often don’t get along with vegetables. There’s nothing green in them, so you’ll pass their X-ray vision test brilliantly, which can spot a micron of chopped parsley leaf on a neighbor’s plate. With a few healthy ingredients, you can prepare a tasty side dish that can also be considered a second course after a hearty first course. I love pumpkin, you already knew that, didn’t you?
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 12 -14 fritters
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter
Ingredients
- 12 oz pumpkin (already cleaned (about 18 oz with skin))
- 12 oz potatoes
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsps grated Parmesan cheese
- to taste fine salt
- 2 tbsps breadcrumbs
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1 quart water
- to taste coarse salt
- to taste breadcrumbs
- to taste peanut oil
- 1 tbsp butter
Tools
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Frying Pan
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Fork
- 1 Slotted Spoon
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Potato Masher
Steps
First of all, bring the salted water to a boil. Peel the potatoes and the pumpkin, wash them well. To save time, cut both the potatoes and the pumpkin into fairly large pieces. You can also boil the potatoes and pumpkin together, but keep in mind that pumpkin cooks in less time, so start with the potatoes and then add the pumpkin, which cooks in about 10 minutes when cut into pieces.
Drain the potatoes and pumpkin very well, no water should remain, and both the potatoes and the pumpkin must be well-cooked, otherwise when you mash them, they will remain lumpy. If you want perfect fritters, you need to achieve a smooth puree, without lumps of undercooked vegetables.
Mash the boiled pumpkin and potatoes while still hot with a potato masher and gather the puree in a large bowl. You can also do without the potato masher if you don’t have one; in that case, use a fork and a flat plate. Do not use an immersion blender. If the vegetables are well-cooked, even a fork works fine, as long as you work it well and leave no lumps.
Mix the pumpkin and potato puree well and let it cool. When the vegetables are cold, add a whole egg, 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese, 2 of breadcrumbs, and a good grating of nutmeg. Mix well, taste, and adjust for salt.
Now you are ready to shape the fritters, using a spoon to have them more or less the same size. First, form balls by compacting them well between your hands and then slightly flatten them to give them the classic fritter shape.
Coat them with breadcrumbs and then fry them in very hot oil and butter, a few at a time so as not to lower the temperature too much, otherwise they tend to fall apart; it will take about 10 minutes. Color them on both sides, then remove them and drain on a sheet of absorbent paper.
Serve them hot with a pinch of salt added only at the last moment.
My Recommendation
Use old potatoes, the kind also suitable for making gnocchi, and preferably Mantovana pumpkin. They should not be watery.
You can substitute nutmeg with pepper, but this spice pairs magnificently with pumpkin; as the saying goes, it is “its perfect match,” and it gives a special taste to its preparations.
You can omit the butter for frying, it’s not essential, but I find that it gives the frying of these pumpkin and potato fritters an even sunnier color.
