Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Fried ricotta flat-bread & parsley anchovy sauce

I just dislike myself writing about carbs... again, and deep-frying... again. But how can I not to? This flat bread (gnocco fritto alla ricotta) is incredibly delicious! It may remind our Indian blogger of their bhatura as they're both done in the same way - rolling a small dough to a big flat circle, then deep-fry, the bread will puff up like a balloon!

I am not afraid of deep frying. Unlike frying fish or meat, dough usually doesn't cause oil splatter (much). If you have a wok at home, use it; it has a higher wall (block some splatters) and a curve base (you pour less oil than in frying pan for the same 2"-depth).

This parsley sauce is called salsa verde, means green sauce in Italian. Green sauces were an entire category centuries ago, are generally uncooked, varied by adding anchovies and/capers to taste. People use to accompany it with boiled and poached dishes, but the new Italian cooking seems not to be rigid with it. Anyway, serving it with this bread is suggested by Sale & Pepe - Grandi Fritti all' Italian, I tried it, and I liked it.

Recipe of fried ricotta flat-bread (yield: 4.5-inch-dia. bread, 8 - 9 pcs)

*scaled down the recipe from Sale & Pepe - Grandi fritti all' Italiana*
  • 1 2/3 cups plain flour
  • 5 Tbps ricotta
  • 1 egg yolk
  • milk as needed
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper

Combine all the ingredients, and knead briefly until the dough is smooth. Wrap and rest for 30 minutes. Divide it into smaller portions, about the size of walnut, roll each to a flat circle, 1/8" thick. In between rollings you should cover and let the dough rest 2 more times so that it won't resist to spread. Pour 2"-deep oil in wok, preheat. Fry dough, due to the size you may only do one at a time, over medium/ medium-low heat until both sides golden. Drain. Serve immediately with sauce to your choice. Go plain is great too.

Recipe of parsley anchovy sauce

*adopted the recipe of salsa verde from The Fine Art of Italian Cooking by Giuliano Bugialli*

  • 1 small slice of country bread soften by soaking in wine vinegar
  • A bunch of Italian parsley, leaves only.
  • 2 medium cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 hard-boil egg, yolk only
  • 3 anchovy fillets in oil, drain
  • some olive oil

Chop parsley and garlic together until very very fine. Then transfer them to a bowl, add bread (squeezed out the vinegar first), anchovy and yolk, mashed by a spoon, keep adding (little by little) olive oil while stir the mixture until it emulsifies.

I didn't like the sauce's texture that done by a blender. The method stated above yields a satisfactory result to me.

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19 comments:

Anh said...

Gattina, I always "catch" your post when eating breakfast. Now I am hungry again just looking at these pics. :D

I like fried bread and love the combo with salsa verde. I was thinking making salsa verde but haven't had time to play in the kitchen yet. Oh, my friend served salsa verde with some lightly fried buffalo mozzarella the other day, and it was really good.

Anonymous said...

Gattina - write about all the carbs you want! :) I am loving this recipe. I don't know if any flat bread placed in front of me would even make the sauce!

Anonymous said...

Ooooh, talk about divine!! This looks like it would be the perfect entree for a glitzy dinner party!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Ah, well, beautiful break and I love the green sauce. Sometimes a girl's just got to give in, again and again!

Anonymous said...

i don't reading anything carbs and deep-fried ;) this is a delicious combination!

Meeta K. Wolff said...

Who cares about all that stuff - carbs fried food. A girl has to indulge and this is something luxurious. Gattina, its just so awesome!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Well, it's about time...Welcome to the Daring Bakers.

Anonymous said...

Oh how did you know that Ricotta in the refrigerator?! Actually, I bought the Ricotta to make the Orange Chili Cheesecake, but I haven't built up the nerve yet to attempt the recipe. (I'm not so good of a baker!) But this recipe seems less intimidating so I think I'll try this first!!

FH said...

Gattina,it's more like Indian fried bread Bhatura than Poories!!Don't know what it is?Check my new post!!:D

Love these.My kids love anything with cheese.I would make some Dal saak for these,yummy!:))

Saffron said...

Darling! Here I've just found a great idea for my dinner! I love anchovies!Baci

Sia said...

gattina-its just pleasure to come to ur blog and see those lovely presented pics.

Unknown said...

Another attractive carb dish, and more deep frying! And I love your teeny eeny cups for the sauce, so dainty *wink*

Mishmash ! said...

Hello dearie....I just loved the way you arranged the sauce in three cups and the design on top of it.. :)

Shn

Astrid said...

Wow this recipe might actually tempt me to fry something for the first time in my life! What kind of oil do you use?

Cate said...

Not a big fan of anchovies, but this one certainly is tempting.

Anonymous said...

I so wished you came to bake all your wonderful breads in my kitchen. You are the master at these!

Anonymous said...

Oh--that flat bread is just perfect! It looks like it could float away! And those anchovies are so happy that you treated then with such care and made them look adorable.

Anonymous said...

Mmm deep fried anything is okay with me. Ricotta flat-breads are new to me but it looks so tasty, so golden and crisp.

Bong Mom said...

These are like "Puris", wow never knew this had an Italian version.
Lovely pics as always