Author Notes
Simple fried dough balls that can be flavoured with anchovies, cheese.....dried meats. They remind me of a Nigerian recipe for puff-puff which we serve with fried whitebait at parties. My husband finished a bowl of these with some aioli....and loved ém. Thanks to Boulangere for pushing me to post the recipe!
The dough can be doubled or tripled! Note that the number of balls will vary depending on the scoop size. Mini versions can be made too!
—Kitchen Butterfly
Test Kitchen Notes
Kitchen Butterfly’s Anchovy Fritters are very light, crispy and although the batter is porous, they don’t absorb a lot of the frying oil and keep fresh even after a couple of hours. I didn’t know what “strong white flour” is and used white wheat flour. This is definitely an original, piquant and versatile snack. The fritters are delicious with various condiments and the recipe is easy to follow. —Kukla
Ingredients
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150ml lukewarm water
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7-10g fresh yeast
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1/3 teaspoon salt
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125g strong white flour
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3-4 anchovy fillets, rinsed and dried and cut into small pieces, about 1 cm each
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1/2- 1 teaspoon dried oregano or dried rosemary, finely chopped
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2-3 dried red chili peppers, crumbled
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Oil, for deep frying
Directions
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Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl and make a well in the centre.
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Make a yeasty mixture by combining the water and the fresh yeast, ensuring the yeast is dissolved and well incorporated.
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Using a fork, beat the liquid in to the flour till all the liquid is incorporated into the flour and a uniform batter is formed. Cover the bowl and leave the batter to rise till doubled in bulk, about 1 - 1.5 hours.
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Heat up some oil for deep frying - in a fryer or in a deep skillet, till hot. Be careful.....hot oil hurts! The oil is hot when a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds
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Once ready, the dough will be bubbly/holey. Add the chopped anchovy pieces, dred oregano and dried chilli onto the surface of the dough. Using wet fingers or a tablespoon, take up scoops/spoonfuls of batter with a few pieces of anchovies and herbs and carefully drop into the oil. Fry until golden, and repeat till the batter is used up.
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Drain the balls in a sieve/colander (and on kitchen paper if you wish). Serve with some aioli!
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