Frittelle di San Giuseppe (St. Joseph's Fritters)

We are in the process of putting together our family St. Joseph's Altar in honor of today's feast. You can find ideas in the archives, beginning with Jennifer's great post on Foods for St. Joseph's Altar.

One of the recipes we decided to try this year is called Frittelle di San Giuseppe, St. Joseph's Fritters.  We found the recipe in A Continual Feast: A Cookbook to Celebrate the Joys of Family and Faith Throughout the Christian Year, and I just happened to have all the random ingredients needed, including orange rind, golden raisins, and pine nuts!  (We omitted the fruit brandy.)  

I offered each of my children a sample and they have all declared them a delicious success.  They are all eagerly awaiting to eat the rest during our celebration this evening.  Here is the recipe.

Frittelle di San Giuseppe

adapted from A Continual Feast

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups milk
• 1 cup raw rice
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons fruit brandy (optional)
• Grated rind of 1 large orange
• 3 tablespoons golden raisins
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts
• Oil for deep frying
• Confectioner's sugar

Directions:

Bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan. Add the salt, vanilla, granulated sugar, and rice. Cover the pan and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the rice is cooked and the milk has absorbed. Let the rice cool for several hours, or overnight. (The rice needs to be completely cooled before proceeding to the next step.)

Mix the rice thoroughly with the eggs, flour, baking powder, brandy, orange rind, raisins, and pine nuts.

Heat the oil to 375˚ F. for deep-fat drying. Drop 1 tablespoon of the Frittelle mixture at a time into the oil until golden brown.  You can cook a few at a time, keeping them separate.

Drain the Frittelle on paper towels.

Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar and serve hot.

Happy St. Joseph's Day!