Ricotta Fritters with Pea and Mint Dip

This was basically a lunch of leftovers. I had some ricotta I wanted to use up and half a package of fresh mint. Donna Hay magazine included this recipe in issue #77 and I thought I'd see how it turned out. We all have frozen peas in our freezers so I was all set.

The Pea and Mint dip turned out a tad firmer than I'd like, but only because I didn't have enough sour cream and no yogurt or milk in the fridge so I made do. More of a spread, it worked fine, but I'd hardly call it a dip. You can adjust the texture when you process it and hopefully, you won't have run out of sour cream like I did.

The fritters were easy enough, but don't flip them too soon as they'll fall apart. Treat them like pancakes and look for those bubbles to show through, at least around the sides. Pretty tasty lunch for one or two and a great recipe to use up some odds and ends in the fridge.

Ricotta Fritters with Pea and Mint Dip
Donna Hay, Issue 77

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh ricotta

1/2 cup mint leaves, shredded

2 tablespoons self rising flour

2 egg whites

extra virgin olive oil for brushing

snow pea tendrils and lemon wedges for garnishing

Pea and mint dip:

2 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind

1/2 cup mint leaves

salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:

To make the pea dip: combine ingredients and process in a food processor, or use a hand held blender.

Mix the ricotta, mint, salt and pepper and flour

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold into the ricotta mixture.

Brush a pan with olive oil and cook two tablespoon portions of the ricotta mixture for 3 minutes or so on each side or until golden brown.

Serve with the pea dip.