1/4 cup arborio rice as needed, salt
1 cup milk
1 envelope (1/4 oz.) yeast, dry
11/3 cups flour, unsifted, all-purpose as needed, sugar
1/2 cup blueberries
1/4 tsp. cinnamon, ground
1/16 tsp. cardamom, ground as needed, vegetable oil
BLUEBERRY GINGER SAUCE:
1/2 cup sugar
11/2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, peeled and grated
4 cups blueberries
as needed, vanilla ice cream or gelato
In a small pan over high heat, bring 1 cup water to a boil. Stir in rice and 1/8 tsp. salt. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook until rice is tender, 18 to 20 minutes. Drain rice and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, in a small pan over low heat, heat the milk until bubbles form at the edge. Set aside to cool to 100F to 110F. When cooled, sprinkle yeast over milk and allow to soften for 5 minutes, then whisk until combined.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, 1 Tbsp. sugar, and 1/2 tsp. salt; add yeast mixture and stir until smooth. Fold in rice and blueberries; cover and set aside in a warm place until mixture doubles in size, about 30 minutes.
Combine 1/2 cup sugar with the cinnamon, cardamom, and 1/16 tsp. salt; set aside.
For Blueberry Ginger Sauce: In a small pan over high heat, stir 2/3 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar and fresh ginger. Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute. In a large bowl, place 4 cups fresh blueberries and pour the hot ginger syrup over and stir to combine. Set aside.
Just before serving, in a medium pan, over medium-high heat, bring 3" vegetable oil to 375F. Make fritters by dropping 3-5 heaping tablespoons of the dough at a time into the hot oil and fry until golden on one side. Turn fritters and fry until golden on the other side, about 5 minutes in all. Remove fritters to paper towels with a slotted spoon to drain. Repeat with remaining dough to make about 30 fritters.
To serve: Toss warm fritters in the sugar and spice mixture. Arrange 4 fritters on a dessert plate. Place another fritter on top of them. Add a scoop of ice cream and top with Blueberry Ginger Sauce.
Photo Credit: US HIGHBUSH BLUEBERRY COUNCIL
Recipe Provided by: The Red Cat, New York City.Yield: 6 servings.
