Wild fennel fritters

• By Matty Cremona

For 2 people, you will need:

75g of plain flour, one heaped teaspoonful of baking-powder, one egg, two tablespoonfuls of olive oil, 125ml of milk, wild fennel fronds, sea salt (lightly crushed), freshly ground black pepper, chunks of lemon (optional), corn oil or sunflower oil for deep-frying. Optional: ricotta, a little chopped fresh chilli.

To make the batter, sieve the flour and salt into a bowl, make a little hollow in the centre and pour in the egg, milk and olive oil. Whisk it gently until it is smooth. Dip the fennel fronds into this batter and deep-fry them until they are crisp. The oil must be boiling before you drop them into it. Drain the fritters on absorbent paper and scatter them with sea salt and pepper. Serve them immediately as a snack with drinks, with lemon wedges for freshness.

Wild fennel fritters with ricotta: Mix ricotta with chilli and fennel. Roll it into small balls, wrap them in fennel fronds, dip them in batter (recipe as in fennel fritters given here) and deep-fry them. Maltese ricotta works best with this recipe. Italian ricotta is softer and you will have to add an egg and two tablespoonfuls of semolina to every 250g of ricotta.