These fritters are the award-winning frittatinas created by Ciro Salvo, the pizzaiolo of 50 Kalò in Naples.
"In Naples, a pasta croquette is eaten as a snack or appetizer before the pizza. At our family pizzeria in Portici, my father taught me that this croquette must be fragrant, perfectly golden, and have just the right amount of salt," explains Ciro Salvo, the award-winning Neapolitan pizzaiolo of 50 Kalò pizzeria. Here’s his recipe for Neapolitan pasta croquettes.
For the white sauce: 7 Tbsp. butter, softened ⅔ cup. all-purpose flour, 1 qt. milk A pinch of salt , A pinch of pepper
For the batter: 10 cups cold water , 8 cups all-purpose flour
For the filling: 1 lb. bucatini, 11 oz. ground beef, 1 large onion, chopped , 1 large tomato, diced ½ cup peas, Extra-virgin olive oil, Sunflower-seed oil
Instructions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. In the meantime, drizzle a pan with olive oil and sauté the ground beef in a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil with the onions until the onions are translucent, then add tomato and peas and cook for. Cook the bucatini in the boiling water until al dente, then drain, place on a cutting board and chop into small pieces. Place in a large bowl and add the cold white sauce. Mix everything together thoroughly until the sauce and bucatini are well combined. Divide the mixture, rolling it into around 20 balls.
Lightly grease your hands, pick up each ball, poke a hole in it with your finger and fill it with a little ground beef. Seal the opening firmly, and use a burger press to shape the ball into a patty.
In a large bowl, combine the water and flour, and mix to form the batter. Dip each croquette into the batter, and let any excess batter drip off.
Pour enough sunflower seed oil into a frying pan or Dutch oven to cover the croquettes, and heat so that the oil reaches 340-350°F. Fry the croquettes until they have a golden crust, then remove.