Deep-fried vegetables
( Verdure pastellate )

Recipe for deep-fried vegetables

Preparation and cooking

• - Clean and wash vegetables.
  Cut into regular pieces.
  Steam for 5 minutes.
  Let them cool.
• - Meanwhile prepare your batter.
  Pour yolk (lightly beaten), all-purpose flour, a pinch of salt and some cold fizzy water into a bowl.
  Whisk slowly and then vigorously until smooth.
  Add other water if necessary.
  Your batter must be thick.
  Let it rest for about 30 minutes, covered.
• - Heat abundant olive oil in a pan.
  Dip every vegetable piece into your batter.
  Drain well before dipping into the hot oil, the batter should be just a thin layer.
  Then transfer evry piece into olive oil.
  Fry until golden on all sides.
  Take out of the oil every vegetable piece with a skimming ladle.
  Put on absorbent kitchen paper in order to remove the fat in excess.

Just before serving

• - Keep warm your deep-fried vegetables until you finish frying.
• - Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately, hot.

Note

Tips

• - Among the vegetables you can choose: florets cauliflowers, florets broccoli, artichokes, courgettes cut into strips, onion slices, peppers cut into strips, cardoon pieces ...
  Choose seasonal vegetables for the best result.
• - You can also boil the vegetables in abundant water but I prefer to steam them.
• - You can make the batter only with cold fizzy water and all purpose flour.
  In this case the recipe is OK for all people who like eating vegetarian.

Menu planning

• - I have already suggested how to serve your battered vegetables: appetizer or side dish.
  In my opinion, they are also delicious in composing an assorted dish, very rewarding at the end of a hard day of work. Battered vegetables, maybe some goat cheese flavored with fruit, boiled eggs with mayonnaise, Russian salad ... for once, rarely, you can do it.
  And just because the event is rare is much more satisfying ;))
• - Think of battered vegetables even when you have to plan one-course meal. I created a Christmas menu in this way!

Healthy eating

• - Battered vegetables are certainly not the best way to eat vegetables. It's better not to abuse of fried foods, you know. But if you decide to eat them it is much better at home than at restaurant. So you are sure to use the right oil: extra virgin olive oil or peanut oil. And above all, to throw the oil once used ;)
• - As you can see this time there are no nutrition facts. It's more serious, really. Nobody can know the aumount of olive oil absorbed by fried vegetables exactly and so it is impossible to calculate calories, fat ... sorry!

Loretta