Deep Fried Citrus Slices Food

FRIED CALAMARI WITH FRIED LEMONS AND LEMON AIOLI

Steps:

• For calamari: Soak the calamari pieces in the buttermilk in a bowl for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours in the refrigerator.
• For the lemon aioli: Add the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper to a medium bowl. Stir to combine and adjust the seasoning as needed. Set aside until ready to serve.
• Preheat a deep-fryer or several inches of oil in a Dutch oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the flour seasoning: Add the flour, paprika, salt and pepper to a large bowl. Drain the calamari and put into the flour mixture, making sure each piece gets coated with the flour. Dump all the contents into a colander and shake off any excess flour. Line a dish with paper towels and set aside.
• In batches, add the lemon slices and calamari to the preheated oil and fry, mixing with a slotted spoon to prevent the calamari from clumping together, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Right before you take the calamari and lemon out of the fryer, toss in the parsley leaves carefully; this will cook very fast and can splatter, so stand back. Take all the contents out of the fryer to the lined dish and season with salt.
• Serve with the aioli, garnished with the zest and chopped parsley.

FRIED ZUCCHINI WITH CRISPY LEMONS AND CRISPY HERBS

Steps:

• Combine the panko, plain breadcrumbs, Parmesan and cayenne in a medium bowl. Whisk together the eggs with 1 tablespoon cold water in another medium bowl. Arrange the zucchini in a single layer on a baking sheet, flesh-side up, and sprinkle with salt. Submerge the zucchini wedges in the egg mixture. Remove the pieces one by one, shaking off the excess egg, then roll in the breadcrumbs, pressing well so they are coated on all sides and the breadcrumbs adhere. Arrange in a single layer on the same baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours.
• Fry the lemon and herbs: Pour the oil into a deep, heavy-bottomed pot with a fitted lid and attach a deep-fry thermometer. Heat to 325 degrees F.
• Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Drop the thin lemon rounds into the oil and fry until lightly browned and crisped, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and spread on one half of the lined baking sheet to cool.
• Raise the oil to 350 degrees F. Herbs tend to splatter when they hit hot oil, so have the fitted lid for the pot ready in one hand. Dry any excess moisture from the herbs, then drop the parsley and the basil in the oil with your other hand and immediately cover and fry until they turn darker green, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove with the slotted spoon and spread on the other half of the baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat the same process with the oregano.
• Bring the oil back to 350 degrees F. Test the oil by dropping in one piece of zucchini. It should rise to the surface fairly quickly, begin to bubble and fry gradually. Line two baking sheets with kitchen towels. Drop half the zucchini into the oil and gently, slowly "swirl" the oil with the slotted spoon as they fry so they cook evenly. Cook until light to medium brown, 2 to 3 minutes, then remove them slowly with the slotted spoon and lay them out on a kitchen towel to cool. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat with the remaining zucchini.
• Layer the zucchini with the herbs and lemon slices on a large serving plate, and serve with the lemon wedges.

DEEP-FRIED CITRUS SLICES

Steps:

• Top and tail the citrus fruit to the point where you get a good showing of flesh as opposed to pith and skin.
• Slice the fruit as finely as possible while keeping each slice intact, removing any pips.
• Put the buttermilk in a bowl.
• Put the flour and semolina onto a plate and season with salt and pepper, then whisk briefly to combine and get rid of any lumps.
• Dip the citrus slices in the buttermilk and shake or lightly scrape them to get rid of any excess.
• Drop the slices onto the flour mixture and give the plate a little shake.
• Flip over and repeat.
• Dust off any excess - you don't want a thick coating as you want to see the detail from the citrus through the batter.
• Heat enough oil for deep-frying in a heavy-based saucepan or fryer to about 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).
• Fry the slices a few at a time - when they start to go golden brown remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with kitchen paper.
• The slices will continue to brown once they are removed and will be nicely caramelized in patches.
• Sprinkle with salt, then the corresponding spices and/or herbs for each fruit and serve with yogurt dip, if you like.
• If serving with the dip, make this first - simply mix ingredients together and season with salt and pepper.
• Adapted from Citrus by Catherine Phipps (Quadrille, 2017, RRP $29.99 hardcover)

DEEP-FRIED CUSTARD SLICES (SPAIN)

Steps:

• Put milk, lemon zest, 4 tbsp sugar & vanilla bean in a saucepan & bring to a slow boil. Remove pan from heat source, allow milk mixture to cool & remove vanilla bean.
• Melt butter in a 2nd saucepand till foaming & add flour. Cook till the flour foams & turns pale golden, stirring continuously.
• Slowly add the warm milk, still stirring. Cook the sauce on low-heat for 5 min till it thickens.
• Remove pan from the heat source. Slowly add some of the mixture to the beaten egg yolks & whisk quickly to avoid cooking them. Then add the egg yolks to the milk/flour mixture & beat vigorously till well-combined.
• Butter (or spray w/PAM) a rectangular or square dish. Pour the custard into the dish & leave to set in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. (See note in Step 7).
• Combine 2 tbsp sugar w/cinnamon & nutmeg & set aside.
• Cut the cold custard into triangles or squares (A square dish can be cut easily into 9 portions & a rectangular dish can be cut into 8 portions)
• Beat 2 eggs lightly & dip the pieces of custard in the beaten eggs, then in the breadcrumbs.
• Heat the oil in a lrg skillet or saucepan & fry the custard slices in batches till golden brown.
• Drain custard slices briefly on paper towels & arrange on a serving platter. Using a sml tea-strainer or other dusting container, sprinkle sugar/cinnamon/nutmeg mixture atop the custard slices. Serve lukewarm or cold as desired (Fresh fruit would provide color & be esp nice to serve w/this).
• NOTE: The # of servings was not given & depends largely on how you cut the custard, so I estimated the yield. Nearly all the time is cooking or chilling time, but I allowed 15 min for prep time. Times DO NOT include time for the milk mix to cool & custard to chill till cold, so plan ahead & try to forgive me if I'm a bit off w/my estimates. :-).