Region: Italy
Category: Vegetables
Season: Any
Difficulty: Labor Intensive
I love vegetables, especially preparations that are Italian or Mediterranean in any way. When my children were little this is a preparation they not only asked for, but would have seconds and thirds. I usually serve this with fried fish.
Yield: Make 4 servings
Preparation Time: 1:15 hours
1 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup beer (lager)
2 egg whites
1 pound broccoli, trimmed, cut into florets
1. In a bowl, sift the flour, salt, and pepper, then make a well and add the oil and beer. Gradually mix with flour until smooth. Do not over mix. Let stand 1 hour. Beat egg whites until peaks form and then fold into the batter.
2. In a deep-fryer or an eight-inch saucepan with a wire fry basket, preheat the frying oil to 370ºF.
3. Dip the broccoli in the batter, let some batter drip off, and deep-fry until golden, about 2 minutes. Drain, salt lightly, place on paper towels and keep warm while you continue cooking. Serve immediately once the last batch is cooked.
Variation: replace the beer with milk.
Note:
Posted: 01/02/2007
