Pasta Fritters

INGREDIENTS:

For the frittata

• 450g (1 pound) of bucatini pasta;
• 150g (1 cup) of cooked ham, cut into cubes;
• 80g (½ cup) of cooked peas;
• 1 garlic clove, minced;
• 100g (¾ cup) of flour;
• 100g (½ cup) of butter;
• 1L (4 cups) of milk;
• a pinch of salt;
• a pinch of nutmeg;
• vegetable oil for frying.

For the batter:

• 300 ml (1 ⅓ cup) of water;
• 200 g (1 ½ cup) of flour.

METHOD

1. Cook pasta in the salted water until done, drain and chop roughly.

2. Cook bechamel sauce by frying some flour with melted butter for 1 minute, then pour in milk and boil until the sauce gets thick (around 5-7 minutes). season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

3. Quickly fry peas with ham and garlic (2-3 minutes).

4. Combine pasta with bechamel sauce and mix well.

5. Put pasta into a cooking ring forming a cup shape. Add peas and ham mixture into each cup and add more pasta on top to cover. Press and remove the ring.

6. Freeze pasta cutlets for 1 hour.

7. Whisk water with flour. Deep each pasta cutlet into the batter and transfer into preheated oil. Cook until crispy and golden (5-7 minutes).