Chickpea Flour Fritters with a Creamy Ricotta, Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Filling

When I saw this recipe for Chickpea Flour Fritters with a Creamy Filling of Ricotta, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Olives at Lucullian's lovely blog, I immediately decided to try them as I never can resist olive, sun-dried tomato pairings, especially when there is cheese thrown into the mix. In fact, I made them twice, as the photos didn't turn out the first time and it took little to persuade me to make them again. The crispy little fritters make for a delightful meal and my sweetie said it was almost like eating a savory dessert for dinner. The possibilities for toppings and fillings are endless, and I'm thinking of trying them with goat cheese next time, or a creamy mushroom filling. I should also note this recipe is gluten free, so consider this as an alternative to traditional flour based fried savories.

This one goes to Bookmarked Recipes, a weekly food event started by Ruth focusing on recipes inspired from other sources.

Chickpea Fritters with a Creamy Ricotta, Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Filling

For the Fritters:

1 cup of chickpea flour, sifted
1 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of paprika
freshly cracked black pepper
a pinch of sea salt

olive oil for frying

For the Filling:

2/3 cup of ricotta cheese
6 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes, drained, and finely chopped
1/3 cup of black olives, finely chopped
dash of sea salt

In a medium bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, water, black pepper, salt and paprika. Let the mixture sit for a few hours.

In another bowl, combine the ingredients for the filling.

Heat a few teaspoons of olive oil in a small non-stick frying pan over medium heat. When hot, pour in roughly 1/4 cup of the batter. Cook until the fritter is browned and crispy, flip and cook for a few minutes more. Repeat until the batter is gone, adding more oil as necessary. Drain the cooked fritters on paper towels.

To serve, spoon some of the filling onto a fritter. Top with another fritter, and spoon more filling on. Top with another fritter. Repeat the process with the remaining fritters.

Yields 2 - 3 servings (roughly 10 fritters).

More fried savory recipes you might enjoy:
Rice Flour Pancakes
Chickpea Flour Pancakes with Crushed Peas and Cilantro
Savory Rice and Urad Dal Pancakes