[Food + Drink Wednesdays] Pear Fritters with Lemon and Ginger

It's time to celebrate the wonder of pears! I'm pretty sure they're my absolute favorite winter fruit, but then there are also oranges out there, and those are freaking delicious too.

This week, I'm trying a new recipe that I found in Fine Cooking last week. It's a bit complicated but worth the effort.






Ingredients:

• 2 Bartlett pears, cored, peeled, and diced
• 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger (or 2 tbsp ground ginger)
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar, plus 1 tbsp
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon, plus 1/8 tsp.
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 cup milk (it calls for whole milk, but 2% is probably okay too, just not as decadent)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (get the good stuff)
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• about 2 cups of canola oil, for frying

Directions: 

1. Combine pears, lemon zest, ginger, 1 tbsp. sugar, and 1/8 tsp. of cinnamon in a small bowl. Allow to sit and soak up the flavors for about 15 minutes at room temperature. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk egg whites into soft peaks.
3. In another bowl, whisk the milk, 1/2 cup sugar, and the vanilla until the sugar dissolves and everything looks a bit frothy. Then whisk in the flour until JUST combined. Fold in the egg whites with a rubber spatula. Then fold in the pear mixture. 
4. In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1 cup of sugar with the 2 tsp. cinnamon.
5. Pour 1/2 inch of oil into a 10-inch cast-iron skillet for frying. Keep a candy thermometer on the side of the skillet, and heat the oil until it reaches 350F. Drop batter into the oil 2 tbsp at a time. Add a few more (4-5), but do not crowd them together. You want them to cook evenly. Fry until golden brown, which should take about 2 minutes. Then turn them over with a slotted spoon and allow to cook on the other side (about 2 more minutes). 
6. When they're done, place them on a paper-towel lined plate and let them drain. Toss them into the cinnamon-sugar mix and voila! you're done. 
7. Serve these babies warm and delicious. 

BAM!