Ricotta Fritters

1. Mix ricotta, flour, egg, nutmeg, black pepper, espelette pepper, Parmesan, basil leaves and prosciutto, Let sit while you make your tomato sauce.

Tomato Sauce

1. Cook onion and garlic in olive oil till softened and translucent, but with no color.

2. Pour San Marzano tomatoes into a bowl and squeeze with your hands till the tomatoes pop, then add to onions.

3. Add remaining sauce ingredients, then simmer for thirty minutes, stirring often.

4. Puree the tomatoes in a food mill. If you do not have one, then put everything into a blender and pulse on low speed, Be careful, when you blend hot ingredients they expand and can cause the top to fly off. I usually cover my blender with a kitchen towel and start the blender slowly.  You want it to be smooth but not pureed completely. The problem with blenders is they aerate things which will give your sauce an orange creamy color and change the mouthfeel somewhat.

Finishing the ricotta fritters

1. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large non-stick saute pan. Drop tablespoons of ricotta fritter batter into the oil and cook till golden brown.

2. Use a soup spoon to flip fritters over and brown on all sides.

3. Spoon tomato sauce onto warmed plates and top with fritters.

Ricotta Fritter batter

1. Mix ricotta, egg yolks, rum, sugar, flour, and baking powder together in a bowl.

2. Beat egg whites in a stand mixer (or by hand) till medium peaks. Add sugar and continue beating on high speed for thirty seconds, or until firmer peaks and glossy. Delicately fold into ricotta mixture.

3. Fold in chocolate chips and orange zest.

Cooking the fritters

1. Heat two quarts of vegetable oil to 350 degrees in a large stockpot.
2. Drop tablespoons of ricotta mixture into the pot and cook till golden brown, about two minutes.
3. Use a slotted spoon to remove fritters and drain on paper towels.
4. Dust heavily with powdered sugar and eat immediately.