Fit to be Fried

I have just made (and eaten) beignets de bananes--banana fritters from Jessica B. Harris’ new cookbook, “The Africa Cookbook: Tastes of a Continent.” Harris is a food historian, a veteran cookbook author, a world traveler and a professor of English. I met her several years ago when she was on tour for “The Welcome Table,” a terrific and thorough book on African American cooking. What impressed me about “The Welcome Table”--in addition to a recipe for the best pralines ever--was how Harris traced some of America’s most popular foods back to their African roots: gumbo, deep-fried foods, leafy greens . . .

Harris and I had scheduled a lunch interview, so I took her to the now-defunct Kukatonor, a small Liberian cafe on Pico Boulevard, where we ate white fufu, a starchy, gelatinous paste that’s eaten with stews, in this case oxtail and okra stews. At the end of our meal, the cook came out of the kitchen. A motherly Liberian woman, she was shy yet gracious, and within minutes she and Harris were enthusiastically sharing recipes and laughing.

Harris has since been all over Africa doing exactly what she did at Kukatonor: asking questions and making friends. The accumulated lore and culinary know-how from these encounters, combined with Harris’ academically rigorous research, make “The Africa Cookbook” a treasure trove of facts--and a pleasure to cook from.

I called Harris recently for advice. I was to provide a dessert for a small Kwanzaa celebration: What from “The Africa Cookbook” would she recommend?

She suggested fruit fritters from West Africa. “Fritters are all over the African Atlantic,” she said. “It’s a phenomenon I call the ‘Fritter Factor.’ ” She went on to describe savory fritters, sweet fritters, fritters that stretch leftovers, fritters sold as street food. Fruit fritters are a traditional end to a meal.

Harris’ recipe calls for bananas. “The recipe cries out for all kinds of variations,” she says. “Try big black raspberries. Add some minced ginger to the batter and try strawberries and kiwi. Or leave out the sugar, add a pinch of salt and try avocado fritters and vegetable fritters. Play with them, please!”

After this pep talk, I tried my hand at the basic beignets de bananes. (I wasn’t about to make them for Kwanzaa without a test run.) The recipe, I discovered, is classic Harris: very easy and completely surprising.

There were a few moments of faith involved. When mixing the wet and dry ingredients, it seemed there simply was not enough liquid to produce a batter--or even a pie crust for that matter. Stifling the urge to adjust the amounts, I continued following the directions; only after I folded in the whipped egg whites did anything even remotely liquid appear. I set the batter in the refrigerator (it has to rest a day before using), then made a few phone calls and ran an errand or two. A few hours later, when I went to wash the beaters and bowls I’d used, I discovered the batter was a truly pernicious form of glue--yet such stickiness turns out to be a virtue in fritterdom.

This is one batter that sticks to its subject. The bananas coat quickly, perfectly, irrevocably. (Tongs make the job a snap--you can easily fry fritters for eight people in the time it takes for coffee to brew.) Once in the oil, the fritters swiftly take on appealing little Sputnik shapes and turn a rich golden brown. But the real beauty of this beignet is within: The banana, sealed in its airless casing, steams into a sweet, creamy confection.

The only thing more difficult than washing the batter off your tongs is not eating the fritters before they cool and leaving enough for your guests.

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Banana Fritters

Adapted from Jessica B. Harris’ “The Africa Cookbook” (Simon & Schuster)

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Serves 8

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3/4 cup flour, sifted

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, separated

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons milk

1/8 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Dash of nutmeg

1 cup peanut oil

4 large, firm, ripe bananas

3 tablespoons powdered sugar

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Place flour, sugar and salt in medium bowl. Make well in dry ingredients and place egg yolks in well. Mix, adding water and, gradually, milk.

Beat egg whites to stiff peaks in separate bowl and gently fold into batter. Stir in lemon zest and nutmeg. Cover bowl with clean damp towel and refrigerate 1 day.

Heat oil to 375 degrees in heavy Dutch oven or deep fryer. Peel bananas and cut crosswise into 1-inch chunks. With tongs, dip bananas into batter and fry until golden brown. Remove fritters with slotted spoon and drain. Place on serving plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm.

Note: To make pineapple fritters, substitute 2 pineapples, cut into 1-inch chunks. Add pinch of ground cinnamon to batter and to powdered sugar. To make mango fritters, substitute 8 mangos, cut into 1-inch chunks.

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Food stylist: Christine Anthony-Masterson