Pitaroudia Rodou (Πιταρούδια Ρόδου)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •wide heavy frying pan, 28cm
• •potato masher or food processor
• •wire rack set over a tray
• •box grater

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the chickpeas

   Drain the soaked chickpeas and put them in a pot with fresh water to cover by 5cm and the bay leaf. Simmer gently until tender but not collapsing, 50 to 70 minutes depending on their age. Salt only near the end. Drain well, discard the bay leaf, and let the chickpeas cool until they stop giving off surface moisture.

2. 2

   Mash them roughly

   Put the chickpeas in a wide bowl and crush them with a potato masher or pulse them briefly in a food processor. You want a rough mash with some small pieces left, not a smooth purée. Those little pieces give the pitaroudia their bite.

3. 3

   Make the batter

   Add the grated tomato, grated onion, spring onions, mint, parsley, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir in the flour and baking powder. The mixture should be thick and spoonable, loose enough to drop from a spoon but not runny. Rest it for 20 minutes, then judge it again. If it spreads like soup, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour. If it can be rolled like a meatball, it is too stiff for Rhodes.

4. 4

   Heat the oil

   Pour 1cm olive oil into a wide heavy frying pan and heat it over medium-high heat. Test with a small bit of batter: it should sizzle at once and rise with tiny bubbles around the edge. Too cool and the fritters drink oil. Too hot and the tomato sugars darken before the middle cooks.

5. 5

   Fry in spoonfuls

   Drop heaped tablespoons of batter into the oil, leaving space between them. Flatten each one lightly with the back of the spoon. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until deep golden, crisp at the edges, and set through the middle. Work in batches and keep the oil lively, not furious.

6. 6

   Drain and serve

   Lift the pitaroudia onto a rack or paper towel and salt them while they are hot. Serve warm with lemon wedges. If you want the Rhodian honey finish, warm the honey just until loose and trail a very thin thread over the fritters at the table.

Chef Tips

• •Use dried chickpeas if you can. Canned chickpeas will make a fritter, yes, but the texture is softer and less clean. If you must use them, start with 500g drained canned chickpeas, rinse them well, and dry them on a towel before mashing.
• •The tomato matters. This is not a dish for a pale winter tomato. When the tomato is sad, leave it out and cook a different pulse dish that day. Sourcing wins.
• •Mint is not decoration here. It is the green edge that makes the chickpea and tomato taste like Rhodes, so use fresh mint and chop it just before mixing.
• •Pitaroudia are nistisima, fasting food, as long as you fry in olive oil and skip any dairy on the side. Plant-based cooks are not borrowing a substitute here. They are standing inside the old calendar.
• •Leftovers keep one day in the refrigerator. Reheat them in a dry pan or a hot oven until the edges wake up again. The microwave makes them tired.

Advance Preparation

• •Soak the chickpeas overnight, 8 to 12 hours. This is the step that makes the cooking even.
• •Cooked chickpeas can be drained and refrigerated up to 2 days ahead.
• •The mixed batter can rest in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours. Stir before frying and add a spoon of flour only if it has loosened too much.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 165g)