Fritters in the special Catalan style

Fritters as made in Catalonia are a popular and aromatic delight. These fried pastries were a clever monastic invention that tried to make more bearable the fasting of the Lenten.

Fritters, Catalan fried pastries I didn't coat them with sugar so that you can see them better

Ingredients for making fritters

Yields about 30 fritters

• 2 cups (500 g) flour – use cake flour for lighter fritters
• 3 eggs
• 2 almond-sized bits of fresh yeast or 2 teaspoons dry yeast
• 1 cup (250) sugar plus 3 to 4 tablespoons sugar for sprinkling
• 1½ teaspoons anise seeds – crushed and pounded
• 1½ teaspoons coriander seeds – crushed and pounded
• Half teaspoon salt
• The rind of 1 lemon – finely grated
• 2 tablespoons anisette
• 2 tablespoons milk – lukewarm
• Olive oil and sunflower oil for frying – Or use only sunflower oil

Fritters recipe preparation method

Preparation time: 20 minutes (not counting the rising of the dough.)
Cooking time: 15 minutes.

1. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl.


2. In a mortar, crush and pound the anise seeds and the coriander seeds. Grate the lemon rind.


3. Add the flour to a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and mix well. Make a well in the middle and add the dissolved yeast. Mix well with your hands.


4. Add the pounded anise and coriander seeds and mix well. Add the grated lemon peel. Mix with your hands. Add 1 cup sugar and mix together.


5. Add the eggs and the anisette and start kneading the dough with your hands. Knead the fritters dough for at least 10 minutes. You'll get an elastic slightly sticky dough. When it's done, you should be able to stretch it out without the dough breaking.


6. Place the dough for the fritters in a clean bowl, cover it with a tea towel, and a woolen piece of cloth if possible, and allow it to rise in a warm place for 3 hours. It should double its volume.


• The longer you allow the dough for the fritters to rise the better. Women used to prepare the pastries in the late evening, after dinner. They let it rise for 15 to 17 hours and fried them for lunch. If you want to see the difference, allow your dough for the fried pastries to rise overnight and you'll see the difference.


7. Pour a little bit of olive oil into a cup and dip your fingers in it.


8. In a deep fryer or skillet heat a mixture of half olive oil half sunflower oil.


• The oil should be hot but not very hot, otherwise the fritters will burn and will remain raw inside.


9. With a spoon or your hands, scoop out some dough about the size of a walnut. Make a small ball, flatten it a little bit, and pierce it with your thumb to make a hole in the center.


10. Fry them in manageable batches until you have used up all the dough. Frying Catalan fritters is a fast process. Be careful not to burn them.


• You can also leave some dough for frying fresh fritters the next day. This dough keeps well one or two days in the refrigerator in a plastic bag or container.


• If you don't have experience, first prepare a batch of only 4 fritters and fry them. Then again, prepare 4 more and fry them. Repeat this process as many times as necessary.


11. When the fritters turn golden on one side, turn them over with thongs or a slotted spoon. Remove them from the skillet with thongs or a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels. After draining, cover them to keep them hot.


12. Sprinkle or coat them with the remaining sugar and serve them hot. You can eat them warm or at room temperature too, but hot fritters are far more delicious.

Fried pastries