Bread Fritters

Bread fritters are a delicious and creative way to reuse stale bread. In Italy, we have a great variety of regional recipes for fritters and here I describe a basic version that you can customize to your taste.

Ingredients

• 200 g of stale bread
• 2 eggs
• 200 ml of milk
• 100 g of grated cheese (parmesan, pecorino, or a mix of the two)
• Chopped parsley (to taste)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Nutmeg to taste (optional)
• Oil for frying

Preparation

1. Start by breaking the stale bread into small pieces and put it in a large bowl.
2. Pour milk over the bread and let it soften for about 20 minutes. If necessary, add more milk until the bread is well soaked.
3. Add the eggs, grated cheese, chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, blending well all the ingredients until you get a homogeneous mixture. If the mixture is too dry, you can add a bit more milk.
4. Heat plenty of oil in a pan and, when it has reached the ideal temperature, take a spoonful of batter at a time and fry it in the oil until it is golden brown on all sides. The oil should not be too hot to prevent the fritters from burning outside while still being raw inside.
5. Once cooked, transfer the fritters onto a plate lined with paper towels to remove excess oil.
6. Serve hot or warm, according to your taste.

Curiosity

In some Italian regional variations, ingredients like anchovies, capers, or vegetables (for example spinach or zucchini) are added to enrich the flavor of the bread fritters. Furthermore, these can be dipped in a liquid batter before frying to create a crispy crust.

Bread fritters are a perfect example of the “nose to tail” approach of Italian cooking, which wastes nothing and transforms simple ingredients into delicious dishes. Enjoy your meal!