Vegetable Fritters

Recipe No. 182 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Fritters and Croquettes. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Ingredients

• Celery, cooked, diced — 2¾ pounds (2¾ No. 56 dippers)
• Carrots, cooked, diced — 2½ pounds (2 No. 56 dippers)
• Peas, shelled, cooked — 2 pounds (2½ No. 56 dippers)
• Flour, sifted — 8½ pounds (8½ No. 56 dippers)
• Baking powder — 6 ounces (⅓ mess kit cup)
• Salt — 2 ounces (4 mess kit spoons)
• Milk, evaporated — 5—14½-ounce cans
• Water (for milk) — 1¾ quarts (1¾ No. 56 dippers)
• Eggs, beaten — 18 eggs (1 No. 56 dipper)
• Fat (for frying) — as needed

Directions

Key ingredients

Baking Soda & Baking Powder · Evaporated Milk

1. Combine cooked vegetables.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together.
3. Combine milk, water, and beaten egg; add to flour mixture and stir until smooth.
4. Add cooked vegetables and mix lightly.
5. Drop by spoonfuls into deep hot fat (375° F.). Fry about 6 or 7 minutes, turning fritters frequently to cook them evenly.
6. Drain on absorbent paper or a rack.
7. Serve very hot.

Notes

SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Celery, cooked, diced — 3½ oz Carrots, cooked, diced — 3¼ oz Peas, shelled, cooked — 2½ oz Flour, sifted — 11 oz Baking powder — ½ oz Salt — about 1 tsp Milk, evaporated — ½ can (14½ oz) Water (for milk) — 9 tbsp Eggs, beaten — 1½ eggs Fat (for frying) — to taste

Serve very hot with a meat gravy, cheese, or tomato sauce (recipes Nos. 511, 496 and 508). Use liquid from vegetables in soups.

— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 182, Fritters and Croquettes. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints.