Crispy Pasta and Cheese Fritters That Outshine Mac and Cheese

Bienvenidos and welcome to another episode of Spain on a Fork today we're going to grab some simple everyday ingredients such as pasta eggs and cheese and create an extraordinary recipe we're talking crispy pasta and cheese fritters and I tell you even though this is not a typical dish that's served in Spain it's something I like to make at home as the fritters have such an incredible texture and flavor to them the recipe is super easy to make and the best part all done in a little over 30 minutes folks serve these fritters as a tapas appetizer or

even as a main course next to a garden salad and a bottle of Spanish wine either way it's the kind of food that's going to fill you with so much goodness alright let's just jump right into this I'm going to fill a large saucepan with some water you want to go to about the halfway point then we'll season generously with sea salt you want that water to be as salty as the sea and heat it with a high heat while the water's heating I'm going to measure out 4 oz of pasta which is 115 grams I'm using small pasta shells here but you can use any pasta you like however I do tell you smaller pasta shapes do work better for this recipe

once the water comes to a boil we'll add in the pasta and we'll give it a mix and cook the pasta until it's just al dente Important to check the package instructions in the pasta you're using that way we get your cooking times right on the money in the meantime let's start making the batter I'm going to add in half a cup of all-purpose flour into a large bowl which is 60 grams we'll also add in half a teaspoon of baking powder which is 2 grams 1 teaspoon of onion powder which is 2 1/2 grams 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, which is 3 grams and half a teaspoon

of sweet smoked Spanish paprika which is 1.25 grams and we'll whisk the dry ingredients together then we'll make a well in the middle crack in one large egg and whisk the egg and then add in 1/3 cup of club soda which is about 90 ml and whisk it all together until you end up with a smooth batter you can also use sparkling water here or even beer if you like once we end up with a smooth batter I'm going to add in 1 cup of shredded cheese which is 120 grams I'm using a Spanish manchego that has been aged for 3 months but you can use any cheese you like we'll also add in half a tablespoon of Dijon mustard

which is about 8 grams and 2 tablebspoons of chopped chives which is 5 grams then we'll season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper and we'll give it a mix until it's well mixed together ok let's move back to the pasta once it's just cooked al dente once again make sure to check the package instructions in the pasta you're using we'll remove the saucepan from the heat and drain the pasta into a colander and rinse it under some cold water this is not only going to stop it from cooking but it's going to bring it to room temperature

then we'll shake off any of the excess water and add the pasta into the bowl with a batter and we'll give it one final mix until it's well mixed together and that's the exact texture you want for your batter If you see that yours is too thick or thin just adjust the amount of liquid you add in there but like I've told in the past these fritter batters are very forgiving meaning even if you don't have them right on the money you're still going to end up with delicious fritters for the final step let's start cooking them up I'm going to heat a large fry pan with a medium heat and add in 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

which is 60 ml of course you can use any oil you like here I just prefer to use extra virgin as it gives these fritters a beautiful lift of flavors link where you can get the one I'm using in the description box below after a couple minutes and the oil's nice and hot we'll start adding in spoonfuls of the batter and you want to make sure all the fritters are in a single layer and evenly spaced out so cook this in batches to not overcrowd the pan and you also want to make sure as you're adding the fritters that you gently push down on them and we're going to go between 3 to 4

minutes per side here or until the fritters are golden and crispy and as you finish each batch transfer the fritters into a dish with some paper towels and if you want to keep your fritters warm while you cook the rest of them just add them into a preheated oven at its lowest setting once all the fritters have been fried up let's make a simple mayo alioli that truly elevates this dish I'm going to add two cloves of garlic I roughly chopped into a mortar along with 1/4

teaspoon of saffron threads which is 0.17 grams link where you get the Spanish golden saffron I'm using in the description box below and a pinch of sea salt and using a pestle we'll pound down on the garlic until it's well mashed you can also use a food processor here or even a hand blender then we'll add in half a cup of mayonnaise which is 120 grams squeeze in 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice, which is 5 ml and drizzle in 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil which is 15 ml then we'll season with a kiss of sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper and give it a whisk until we end up with a beautiful creamy sauce

then we'll transfer the mayo alioli into a serving dish and decorate the fritters around it and check it out folks our crispy pasta and cheese fritters are done easy to make the simplest ingredients and all done in a little over 30 minutes let's give this a try and see how it turned out seriously folks I am so excited to try this I feel like a kid at a candy store moment of truth here we go check that out take one this right here is truly what comfort food is all about wow so good you have that light crispy texture on the outside the inside so many amazing flavors with the pasta and the cheese really shining through It's kind of like a mac and cheese fritter and of course

that simple mayo alioli rounds it out for the perfect balance easy to make give it a try at home once again as a tapas appetizer or even as a main course next to garden salad either way it's the kind of food that's going to fill your body with so much goodness real quick before I go a shout out to a couple of my patreons Tamara Peace, Michael L. Kent and Beverly again guys thank you so much for being patreons of Spain on a Fork you know how much I appreciate you if you enjoyed today's video hit that like button leave me a comment below and if you're not subscribed don't forget to smash the

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