The translation of the name is literal; the happy diners traditionally consume this Neapolitan fritto misto as the just-fried foods are skimmed from the pot and drained. This of course means that the cook eats separately (if at all), unless everyone moves to the kitchen or one has a portable burner set one can set up in the dining area. The Neapolitan oil of choice is rendered lard, but you are quite free to use peanut oil or whatever other oil you prefer.
To serve 6-8:
To serve 6-8:
Prep Time: 90 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3/4 pound (350 g) mixed offal, including sweetbreads, brains, and calf tendons
- 1/2 pound (200 g) thinly sliced calf liver
- 1 1/2 pounds mixed fish, cleaned, boned, and heads & tails removed (anchovies, sardines, reef mullet, etc.)
- 12 panzarotti (Neapolitan fried ravioli; see link below)
- 1 small cauliflower
- 6 artichokes and 6 zucchini
- Optional, other vegetables and meats as you prefer
- Oil for frying
- For the batter:
- 1 1/2 cups (150 g) flour
- 2 eggs, separated
- 1 cup white wine
- Salt
Preparation:
Begin by preparing the batter: lightly beat the yolks, add a pinch of salt to them, and combine them with the flour. Work in the wine to obtain a fairly liquid batter, and let it sit for an hour.
Prepare the vegetables (see instructions for the artichokes if need be), slice the long ones into thin slices, break up the cauliflower into florets.
Blanch the brains and sweetbreads for 5 minutes in lightly salted water, cool them in cold water, peel away the membranes, and chop them into bite-sized chunks. Cut the calf tendon up too.
Clean the fish. If they are quite small don't bother boning them; the heads and bones make a pleasingly chrunchy counterpoint while the tails are good handles. Split the small fish up the middle, opening them like a book, and remove the bones. If the fish are larger, cut them into filets.
Heat two pots of oil, and you're ready to go: Whip the reserved egg whites to soft peaks, fold them into the batter, and dip everything but the panzerotti into it (I'd dip the fish last, or divide the batter into two bowls). Fry the fish in one of the pots of oil and everything else in the other, removing and eating things as they rise to the surface and become golden brown. The wine? A Rossese di Dolceacqua would be nice, as would a light, zesty Aglianico-based wine, for example a Lacryma Cristi del Vesuvio Rosso. Wanting a white, I might go with a Gavi di Gavi.
This is just a beginning; you can add other foods that suit your fancy. De Agostini's La Mia Cucina suggests rice croquettes and thin slices of mozzarella dipped in batter. Another possibility would be savory cannoli farciti.
Prepare the vegetables (see instructions for the artichokes if need be), slice the long ones into thin slices, break up the cauliflower into florets.
Blanch the brains and sweetbreads for 5 minutes in lightly salted water, cool them in cold water, peel away the membranes, and chop them into bite-sized chunks. Cut the calf tendon up too.
Clean the fish. If they are quite small don't bother boning them; the heads and bones make a pleasingly chrunchy counterpoint while the tails are good handles. Split the small fish up the middle, opening them like a book, and remove the bones. If the fish are larger, cut them into filets.
Heat two pots of oil, and you're ready to go: Whip the reserved egg whites to soft peaks, fold them into the batter, and dip everything but the panzerotti into it (I'd dip the fish last, or divide the batter into two bowls). Fry the fish in one of the pots of oil and everything else in the other, removing and eating things as they rise to the surface and become golden brown. The wine? A Rossese di Dolceacqua would be nice, as would a light, zesty Aglianico-based wine, for example a Lacryma Cristi del Vesuvio Rosso. Wanting a white, I might go with a Gavi di Gavi.
This is just a beginning; you can add other foods that suit your fancy. De Agostini's La Mia Cucina suggests rice croquettes and thin slices of mozzarella dipped in batter. Another possibility would be savory cannoli farciti.
