Spinach and Parmesan Fritters
The deep-fried spinach fritters of the Argentine bodegón: tender inside, with a properly crisp crust outside.
There is exactly one step where they go wrong, and it happens before the batter: the spinach has to be squeezed completely dry. Not drained — wrung out, with your hands or in a cloth. Every trace of water loosens the batter, and then the fritter fills with oil as it fries instead of forming a crust.
The same trap in another dish: the spinach and ricotta malfatti, where the moisture is driven off in the pan rather than squeezed out — but it is the same moisture that ruins them.
🔎 What is self-raising flour? — where it comes from, what goes in it and how it differs.
Ingredients
- 2 bunches of fresh spinach (or 400 g cooked broccoli)
- 2 fresh eggs
- 150 g self-raising flour (or plain flour + 1 tsp baking powder)
- 50 ml whole milk
- 80 g finely grated Parmesan
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- Neutral oil, as needed, for deep-frying
- Salt, freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of nutmeg, to taste
Method
- 1
Wash the spinach leaves well and cook them in the steam or in a pan with no added water (just what clings to the leaves from washing) for 2 minutes, until they collapse. Take them out, let them cool and then, using a clean cloth or your hands, wring them hard until absolutely no water comes out. Chop them finely with a knife.
- 2
In a large bowl, beat the 2 eggs together with the whole milk, the chopped garlic, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir in the grated Parmesan so it is evenly distributed.
- 3
Add the chopped spinach to the bowl and mix well. Finally, rain in the self-raising flour and fold it through with a spatula, using gentle movements, until you have a dense, thick batter that holds its shape. If it looks too runny, add an extra tablespoon of flour.
- 4
Heat plenty of neutral oil in a deep pan over medium heat, ideally to 170-180 °C. Using two tablespoons, take portions of the batter and shape them roughly round. Slide them carefully into the hot oil.
- 5
Fry the fritters in small batches for 3 to 4 minutes, turning them halfway so they brown evenly and puff up. Lift them out with a slotted spoon when they are crisp and drain them on a dish lined with kitchen paper.
- 6
Serve them straight away while they are hot and crisp, ideally with fresh lemon wedges or a homemade aioli.