Ingredients
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300 g Plain Flour
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300 ml Milk
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5 g dry yeast
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1 pcs Egg
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2 tablespoons sugar
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1 tablespoon Orange Zest
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10 g Raisins
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10 g Currants
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1 tablespoon Rum
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1 teaspoon Salt
Directions
Fritule (fritters) is a traditional, home-made delicacy in Croatian cuisine. Originating in the coastal areas, the dish has spread over time throughout the country. In recent years, it has become one of the most popular desserts, especially among street food delicacies.
Fritule are small balls of dough fried in hot oil. As with all traditional recipes, there are a number of variations on fritule depending on the region. They can be made with raisins, nuts, pine nuts, grated lemon or orange peel, liqueurs, vanilla, cinnamon and other spices. More recently, baking powder and yogurt have been used instead of yeast.
Traditionally, the fritule is served with icing sugar. Recently it can be found with many different toppings, such as chocolate, nuts, caramel and jam, and many, many more!
Fritule is often prepared for the most important holidays, especially Christmas and Easter. In fact, they are an indispensable part of Christmas fairs across every city in Croatia. However, their popularity has also made them a regular favourite with summer tourists.
Fritule Origin
The origin of fritule in Croatia can be easily traced. In fact, they came from Venetian cuisine, adapted from a similar dish – frittole. In Venice, frittole was prepared during Lent as a means to use up ingredients before fasting. Even then, they were so popular that they were made and sold in “fritoleras” – small wooden stands set up on streets and squares across Venice.
However, according to Venetian historian Alvise Zorzi, frittole has been a part of Venetian cuisine since the return of Marco Polo from China in 1348. In Mongolian cuisine, there is a very similar dish called boortso.
Variations also exist across many European cuisines, such as oliebollen from the Netherlands, zeppola or castagnole from Italy, beignets from France or krapfen from Austria.
Even Jamie Oliver, during the 2014 FIFA World Cup, selected the fritule as a favourite Croatian dish for the Foodie World Cup project.
This fritule recipe is from my wife’s mother. It has been tested numerous times and I’m pretty sure you will like it just as much as I do.
Steps
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1
Done
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Whisk the yeast into 100 ml of milk. Leave for 10 minutes to let the yeast rise. |
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2
Done
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In a deep bowl, add flour, yeast, eggs and other ingredients. Whisk the mixture until it is thick enough to form peaks. |
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3
Done
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If desired, add a spoonful of rum to the mixture. The rum will prevent the fritule from absorbing the oil when fried. |
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4
Done
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In a deep pot, heat the oil until boiling. Lower the temperature and slowly spoon the fritule into the hot oil. Fry them until they turn yellow on all sides. |
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5
Done
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Top them with powdered sugar, Nutella, jam or whatever you like. |
