Fritelle as Starter

IIngredients for 24 fritelle 600 g potatoes, 150 g grated slightly older sheep's cheese, 100 g flour (type 00), 1 egg, 70 ml beer (can also be non-alcoholic), 1 tsp baking powder, 3 sprigs of rosemary, 6 sage leaves, 2 or 3 tsp piccantissima, olive oil, salt and pepper Preparation Peel and boil the potatoes, then mash them with a masher in a bowl. Add the egg, grated sheep's cheese, salt and pepper and mix. Finely chop the sage leaves and rosemary needles and keep these aside. Pour the (cold!) beer into the bowl with the potato mixture. Add the sifted flour and baking powder. Knead ( first perhaps with a fork and then with your hands) everything carefully until a soft dough forms. Divide the dough in half and put one part in another bowl. Add the piccantissima (spicy sauce made from tomatoes, peppers and red pepper) to one part and the sage and rosemary to the other. Knead both parts to get homogeneous mixtures. Heat plenty of olive oil in a high- sided pan and put spoonfuls of the mixture into the hot oil. Fry the fritella a few at a time, turning them until browned on all sides. Then remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Serve them immediately and well hot and seasoned with a little salt if desired.By the way, you can also make the mixture in advance and keep it in the fridge until the time of baking. The basic mixture can be enriched with vegetables, a piece of cod, olives, capers and tomato, for example. Enjoy your meal. Mix, Stir & Smile!