Gluten-free mac cheese fritters
By: Kate Crocker
Published: Sunday, July 14, 2013 - 4:32pm

Ingredients




130 grams gluten-free macaroni pasta
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon oil
50 grams gluten-free plain flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
100 grams smooth ricotta cheese
100 grams grated tasty cheese
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 and 1/2 teaspoons white chia seeds
salt and pepper to taste
extra oil, for frying

Preparation

1 Cook pasta according to packet directions. 2 Heat small frypan over high heat and add 1 teaspoon oil and onion. Cook until onion is transparent. Remove from heat. 3 Once pasta is cooked, drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Separate any clumps of pasta and drain well. 4 In a large bowl, combine pasta, onion, flour, eggs, ricotta and tasty cheeses, nutmeg, chia seeds, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. 5 Heat generous amount of oil in large non-stick frypan, over medium-high heat. Dollop dessert-spoonfuls of mixture into pan and cook for approximately 10 minutes. Turn and cook for approximately 5 minutes on other side, or until fritters are crispy and browned and cooked through. 6 Drain cooked fritters on wire rack and serve whilst still hot.

About

To be perfectly honest, this recipe’s a bit on the indulgent side. I was thinking about ricotta cheese the other day. Specifically, about how I rarely use it in my cooking, so I bought a small tub at the supermarket and decided to see if I could come up with anything. Then the following night, I was struggling to think of what to cook the kids for tea. I started thinking about macaroni and cheese, as I had plenty of gluten-free pasta on hand. But I couldn’t be bothered with the cheese sauce, so I decided to use the ricotta cheese instead. I made fritters so that I could put them in the school lunchboxes the next day.
The result was an instant hit with my family. The ricotta cheese makes the fritters a little lower in fat than your usual mac cheese dish (although frying them in the oil elevates the fat content anyway!). It also makes them a quick and easy meal option.
I have added chia seeds to this recipe for extra nutrition but there are plenty of other ways to boost nutritional value. You could stir in some mashed veggies, some chicken mince, or even some other seed mixes. I served the fritters with steamed vegetables at tea time and then with carrot sticks and cucumber in the lunchboxes the next day.
Enjoy!