You know when you are sitting on your back porch with your feet propped up, and a chicken thinks that your leg would be a good place to perch for a while?!
Oh wait, that’s never happened to you? I’m starting to think we have some weird chickens over here….
Anyway, we have been rather busy around these parts with company, traveling, ear infections (🙋♀️), VBS, swimming, gardening… Ok, the list keeps going and you get the point. And, really the chicken into has nothing to do with today’s post.
Instead of back tracking to catch you up on all the crazy (& sometimes weird) things going on around here, let me just jump right into the yummy treat I have in store for you. Almost two months ago, I gave you the first of four recipes for the Summer Sourdough series.
Today, we will discuss my fall-fave-turned-summer-fave recipe: The Fritter. Before we get any further, go take your sourdough starter out of the fridge and wake that baby up. To do this, add equal parts water and flour to your starter. Stir and allow to sit on the counter for about an hour.
Next, prep your favorite summer fruit. Wash, dry and chop about 3 cups of whatever is growing in abundance in your garden or whatever is on sale at your local grocery store. For our batch, I used peaches, blackberries and blueberries.
Add about 1 cup of starter and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to the chopped fruit and stir. If you are feeling adventurous, add a pinch of cinnamon or your favorite spice. Stir well to cover all the fruit with the starter.
At this point, you will need to preheat oil a cast iron skillet (or other heavy-bottomed skillet.) Since you will be frying the fritters, the amount of oil needed is dependent on the size of the pan. Still, you want at least a 1/4 inch of oil covering the bottom.
Once the oil is hot, drop about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the “batter” into the pan. I typically do three fritter at a time as this allows for plenty of space in the pan and doesn’t allow the fritters to touch.
After 2-3 minutes, the edges will begin to cook (like when cooking pancakes.) Flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes, or until cooked through. The fritter will be a soft doughy consistency with crispy edges, but should not be runny in the center. Also, the more berries or wet fruit that is in the batter, the softer the final fritter will be. Keep in mind this will not be quite as firm as if you were making the typical apple fritter.
Once the fritters are done, remove from the pan. Place on a plate covered with paper towels to allow the excess oil to drain. Then top with powdered sugar (optional, but also not really.) Try to allow the fritters to cool for a few minutes before gobbling them all up!!
Enjoy!
Summer Fruit Fritter
Ingredients
- 3 cups Summer fruit any combination of your favorite berries or fruit
- 1 cup Sourdough starter fed, at room temperature
- 1/4 tsp. Baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon optional
- 1/4 cup Powdered sugar optional
Instructions
- Remove sourdough starter from fridge and feed, about an hour before making this dish.
- Preheat cast iron or other heavy-bottomed skillet, with at least a 1/4 inch of oil for frying.
- Wash, dry and chop fruit into bite size pieces. Small berries can be left whole. Place fruit in mixing bowl.
- Add one cup of sourdough starter to mixing bowl, covering fruit.
- Sprinkle baking soda and spices, if using, on top of the sourdough starter. Stir well to combine.
- Place 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter, per fritter, into frying pan. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes per side.
- Once the fritters are done, remove from pan and place on a plate covered with paper towels. Top with powdered sugar, if using.
