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Repápalos
Bread fritters in sweet milk
Repápalos: bread fritters simmered in sweet cinnamon and lemon milk, a grandmother's dessert from Extremadura
Repápalos belong to the kitchens of Extremaduran villages, where nothing was wasted: stale bread crumbs are mixed with egg into small dumplings, fried until golden, then simmered in milk scented with cinnamon and lemon until they swell and soften. They turn up at Easter and in Lent, and on winter afternoons when there was bread to use up, and they are eaten warm or cold from a deep dish with plenty of the sweet milk. Chef's tip: use bread that is at least two days old; fresh bread makes heavy, doughy fritters.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the fritters
- 5 ½ oz fresh breadcrumbs from day-old white breadcrusts removed
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp lemon zestfinely grated
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 ¼ cups olive or sunflower oil for frying
For the milk
- 3 ¼ cups whole milk
- 3 ½ oz sugar
- 1 strip of lemon peelno white pith
- 1 tsp ground cinnamonto dust
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Beat the 3 eggs with the 1 tsp lemon zest and 1 pinch salt. Stir in the 5 ½ oz fresh breadcrumbs from day-old white bread until you have a thick, sticky paste that holds its shape on a spoon. Leave for 10 minutes so the crumbs soak up the egg; add a few more crumbs if it is still runny.
12 minStep 2: Heat the 1 ¼ cups olive or sunflower oil for frying in a frying pan to 350°F, when a crumb sizzles steadily. Drop in walnut-sized spoonfuls and fry for 1–2 minutes a side until puffed and golden. Drain on kitchen paper.
10 minStep 3: Meanwhile, bring the 3 ¼ cups whole milk, 3 ½ oz sugar, 1 cinnamon stick and 1 strip of lemon peel to a simmer in a wide pan, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
5 minStep 4: Slip the fritters into the milk and simmer very gently for 8–10 minutes, spooning the milk over them, until they have swollen and are soft but still whole. A common mistake is boiling the milk hard at this stage: the fritters break up and the milk can catch on the bottom.
10 minStep 5: Remove the cinnamon stick and peel. Serve warm or chilled in bowls with the milk, dusted with the 1 tsp ground cinnamon.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 33 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does repápalos take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of eggs?
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg, left for 5 minutes (baking only; vegan).
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
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