Apple Fritters

As Carl Sagan (almost) said, "If you want to make an apple fritter from scratch, you must first create the universe."

What the heck's a fritter anyway? Basically a fritter is any kind of food coated in batter and deep-fried. Kind of like a doughnut. Except a fritter is not a doughnut, because there is a main ingredient that the dough is holding together.

And fritters can be different things to different folks.

Here in the United States, fritters refer primarily to small "cakes" made with a main ingredient (such as apples) coated in a batter and either pan-fried or deep fried. Apple fritters are pretty common. As are corn fritters. Some fritters are hiding in plain sight; crab cakes are fritters, they are just a little more pretentious.

Across the Pond, fish and chips can be accompanied by fritters. Like a pineapple fritter, which is a pineapple ring dipped in batter and deep-fried. They go nicely with the deep-fried fish and deep-fried potatoes.

Throughout Asia you can find fritters using exotic sobriquets such as cucur (Malaysia), a-kyaw (Burma), gorengan (Indonesia), and tempura (Japan), just to name a few.

I have even heard rumours that they eat some kind of corn fritters in Australia, but I've been too afraid to ask the few Aussies I know for details.

The making of an American apple fritter is fairly easy and quick.

Apple Fritters

1-1/4 cups flour, sifted

1 Tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup milk
1 Tbs oil (I use the olive variety)
1/4 cup finely grated cheddar cheese
3 to 4 firm apples

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a bowl.  

In another, large bowl, blend the eggs, milk and oil.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients all at once. 

Mix in the cheese. 

Mix it all together until just moistened.

Pare (fancy-pants speak for peel), core and cut the apples into matchsticks (about 3 cups).

Stir the apples into the batter.

Drop the apple mixture from a tablespoon into a pan of deep fat heated to 375º F. Fry each batch 3 to 4 minutes, or until puffy and golden, turning once.

Drain well. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm. 

This makes about 8 to 10 fritters.

Baked Eggs with Goat Cheese and Spinach in Bell Pepper Rings

"All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast."

~John Gunther

I really wanted to call these Goat Cheese and Spinach Quiche in Bell Pepper Rings. But let's be honest, this is not a quiche. Sigh. Neither is it an omelet, nor a frittata, nor a strata. I could have gone with œufs dans les poivrons verts. But that is getting carried away.

The girls were hungry and it was time for breakfast. Looking through the refrigerator I found eggs, a bag of fresh spinach, several bell peppers and some goat cheese.

I had no desire to make an omelet, but wanted something fun.

Ah, inspiration!

The concept was simple enough: slice the bell peppers into one-inch slices, beat the eggs, mix in the spinach and cheese, and bake until perfect.

The execution was a little more complex, but not very much so.

6 large eggs
1 large bell pepper
1 cup of fresh spinach leaves
4 ounces of goat cheese
Salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Slice the bell peppers into one-inch rings - go for four rings. Coarsely chop the spinach. Crumble the cheese. Beat the eggs with a small amount of water (less than a table spoon per egg used).

Place the bell pepper rings on a griddle on low heat (about 250° F) or a frying pan on low. Drizzle a small amount of vegetable oil into each ring. Pour the mixed eggs into each ring with just enough to completely cover the bottom of each ring with about 1/8-inch of egg. Let it cook until the egg is well set.

Transfer the bell pepper rings to a baking tray covered in baking parchment. Fill the bell pepper rings about halfway with eggs, then add generous amounts of spinach and crumbled cheese. Fill the bell pepper rings up to almost the top with eggs and add more spinach and cheese. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until eggs are set.

Let the little œufs dans les poivrons verts, I mean baked eggs in green bell peppers, cool for a few minutes.

And then enjoy!

This recipe is easy to scale up or down and the easy prep of chopping, crumbling and mixing can be done well beforehand to make this a quick breakfast treat.