Ricotta Pumpkin Zeppole
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Author Notes: This recipe was born a few years ago around Thanksgiving. I had an abundance of fresh pumpkin puree and having been all "pied" out (yes, it happens even to the best of us), I decided to play around with this twist on those fried balls of dough so popular at every Italian feast I grew up going to in Brooklyn. While this is in the dessert category, you can even nix the confectioners' sugar and serve them with some savory tomato jam for a passed appetizer. And, while I'm a fan of homemade ricotta, you can use a fresh bought one and just make sure it is well-drained. - Jennifer Perillo
Food52 Review: Jennifer Perillo's zeppole are light, lovely little orbs of fried goodness. Surprisingly (to me anyway), they're also delightfully simple to prepare. I used my teaspoon-sized dough scoop and I was able to fry the whole bunch quite speedily. A couple notes: I used a very dry fresh goat cheese ricotta and this lead to a dough that was a bit drier-looking than the dough in Jennifer's pictures. They fried up nicely in spite of this, but if I were to do it again I'd double the amount of pumpkin puree, both to increase the moisture and make the zeppole more pumpkin-y. Yum! - arielleclementine - A&M
Serves 48
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- 8 ounces fresh ricotta cheese, well-drained
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Canola oil, for frying
- Confectioners' sugar, for garnishing
- Fill a heavy-bottomed deep saucepan halfway with canola oil. Heat the oil to 375ºF degrees.
- Meanwhile, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Add the ricotta cheese, pumpkin, eggs and vanilla extract to a medium bowl. Beat with a fork until mixed well. Pour over flour mixture and stir until wet and dry ingredients are incorporated, being careful not to overmix.
- Drop a scant teaspoon of the mixture at a time into the heated oil. Fry until light golden brown, about 30 seconds on each side. Drain on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- As you accumulate small piles of drained fritters, arrange them on a platter, sift powdered sugar on top and let guests start enjoying them while you continue frying the remaining dough.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Italian Dessert
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over 1 year ago yMarni
Zeppole was awesome! I tried this recipe and wanted to let u know that my family enjoyed it!! :)
I have shared it in my blog as it may help my friends too!! :)
about 3 years ago monkeymom
Looks great! Love all the pictures.
about 3 years ago arielleclementine
oh yum! you clever girl!