Fancy a Deep Fried strawberry
As deep frying becomes a foodie fad, we sample some of the crazier creations
DEEP-FAT frying was once the preserve of greasy chip shops. But recently it has become surprisingly trendy, with top chefs battering an ever-growing selection of unexpected foods.
This week, Great British Bake Off judge Mary Berry insisted that the unhealthy craze has gone too far. referring to deepfried courgette flowers, a favourite of Jamie Oliver and Antonio Carluccio, the redoubtable Mary announced: ‘That is just one thing I wouldn’t cook!’
There’s no doubt deep-fat frying is back in fashion, but is it an acceptable indulgence or just empty calories? ALICE SMELLIE donned her hairnet, tipped a selection of delicacies into her sage smart Fryer — by Heston Blumenthal, no less — and asked nutritionist Angela dowden for her professional assessment. DEEP-FRIED COURGETTE FLOWERS WITH RICOTTA I WILL gloss over how I obtained these delicate flowers, which are rare in early June. Let’s leave it at: forced a remote Cornish farmer to check her fields at midnight. (Try thecornishfoodboxcompany.co.uk).
They are stunning — large, delicate flowers springing out of tiny courgettes. HOW: using a river Cottage recipe, I mix ricotta cheese with herbs and then gently push two teaspoons of it into each flower. I twist the petals to seal in the filling.
After dipping them in a light batter of flour, cornflour, beer and water, I plunge them into the oil for about 30 seconds. ALICE’S VERDICT: Mary Berry is wrong. The soft petals are cushioned within the crisp batter and the cheese is soft and herby. They are incredible. 9/10 CALORIES BEFORE FRYING: Zero per flower. DEEP-FRIED CALORIES: 80 NUTRITIONIST SAYS: This is basically fried cheese. The courgette flower provides diddly squat nutrition-wise and the crisp batter will have absorbed masses of fat. DEEP-FRIED GREEN OLIVES STUFFED WITH FETA Is LIFE too short to stuff an olive? Apparently not. HOW: I loosely follow a recipe by chef Yotam Ottolenghi, slicing feta and shoving it into large olives. Then I roll them in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs and put them in the oil for 30 seconds. ALICE’S VERDICT: Gorgeous, browned little ovals, with the green olive and white feta still visible. I’m not enthralled with the taste. I’d prefer them sans coating. 4/10 CALORIES BEFORE FRYING: 15 for one olive. DEEP-FRIED CALORIES: 45 NUTRITIONIST SAYS: Eat four or five and you may as well have scoffed a Mars bar. Any nutritional value has been decimated. DEEP-FRIED WHOLE CHICKEN THE idea is an entire chicken plunged into boiling fat that produces crunchy skin with moist and tender meat inside.
The fad is so ubiquitous that Time Out ran a feature last month about London’s best chicken restaurants — including deep-fried suggestions. HOW: I buy a small chicken — make sure your fryer basket will take an entire bird — and pop it in for eight minutes per pound of chicken. ALICE’S VERDICT: The chicken is too large and starts to spit fat on to the table. I manage to cook it, but find the bubbling fat — like Frankenchicken — scary. However, the skin is crunchy and the meat moist. 7/10 CALORIES BEFORE FRYING: 600 DEEP-FRIED CALORIES: 750 NUTRITIONIST SAYS: Hardly healthy, but because it’s deep fried without batter, it doesn’t absorb as much fat and calories as others. DEEP-FRIED MACARONI CHEESE HOW: I make the cheese sauce thicker than usual, mix in cooked macaroni, lay it flat on a tray and cool it in the fridge, which makes it go claggy and solid.
It’s disgusting to roll into balls, but they hold their shape as I coat them in egg and breadcrumbs and fry for around a minute. ALICE’S VERDICT: Possibly the world’s most calorific creation, but also the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted. The soft, cheesy pasta is offset by the crunchy crumbs. 10/10 CALORIES BEFORE FRYING: 600 per standard portion. DEEP-FRIED CALORIES: 900 NUTRITIONIST SAYS: There are no redeeming features to this. You’re just adding more fat and carbs. DEEP-FRIED ICE-CREAM IN WHITE BREAD IT sOunds improbable, but all you need is an extra-cold freezer and some white bread. The delicacy is available at a surprising number of restaurants. HOW: I make ice-cream balls with my usual scoop and return them to the freezer. Then I cut the crusts off white bread and squeeze slices carefully around each large scoop.
This is quite easy and incredibly satisfying. I lower them into the fat for less than a minute. ALICE’S VERDICT: Who cares about calories? This is incredible. The icecream doesn’t melt and the bread drinks in the oil, so they taste like hot, sugared churros. 8/10 CALORIES BEFORE FRYING: 215 for each scoop. DEEP-FRIED CALORIES: 400 NUTRITIONIST SAYS: Ice-cream can be very high in fat and sugar. deep frying adds more calories and with slices of bread soaking up the fat, you’re doubling the calorie count. DEEP-FRIED AVOCADO WITH CUMIN I AM so over smug avocado-eaters. Irritatingly, fried avocado has made an appearance in pop-up restaurants all over the capital.
HOW: I slice the avocado, season with salt, pepper and ground cumin and dip it into egg then flour to deep fry till golden brown.
ALICE’S VERDICT: Hot, slimy and tasteless. Own goal, avocado. 3/10
CALORIES BEFORE FRYING: 140 for half an avocado. DEEP-FRIED CALORIES: 250 NUTRITIONIST SAYS: Avocado is full of good fats — the monounsaturated type and also linoleic acid, both of which can keep cholesterol in check. This turns your healthy avocado into a waist-widener. DEEP-FRIED BATTERED STRAWBERRIES A LOndOn company called Crispy Candy rose to fame last year by claiming they could deep fry virtually anything, from Milky Way bars to fruit. Inspired, I attempt juicy strawberries dipped in pancake batter then deep fried. HOW: I beat up a thick batter with eggs, flour and milk then dip the strawberries. They drip and have to be swiftly transferred into the fryer.
These take less than 30 seconds and emerge looking rather beige. I dip them in icing sugar, which looks much prettier. ALICE’S VERDICT: The strawberries are disconcertingly hot, almost like jam, and the icing sugar is needed to give a bit of taste to the bland pancake mix. I’d rather have strawberries and cream. 5/10 NAKED CALORIES: Three per fruit. DEEP FRIED CALORIES: 30 NUTRITIONIST SAYS: I’d be worried about how frying might deplete the heat-sensitivethese super fruits. vitamin C content of DEEP-FRIED POACHED EGGS HOW: I poach my eggs traditionally, pat them dry with kitchen roll and dip them into flour, egg and breadcrumbs before transferring into the fryer. Within a minute the eggs are crispy and golden brown. ALICE’S VERDICT: It tastes like egg on the lightest of toasts. 8/10 CALORIES BEFORE FRYING: 75 per egg. DEEP-FRIED CALORIES: 150 NUTRITIONIST SAYS: There’s not a huge difference in calories between a shallow-fried egg and a deep-fried one, and this is good if you’re trying to cut down on carbs but fancy eggs on toast. DEEP-FRIED HOMEMADE PIZZA JAMIE OLIvEr describes deepfried Italian pizzas as being the lightest he has ever tasted, so I use his recipe, with a few shortcuts. HOW: I add water to a shop-bought pizza-base dough, stir with a fork and then knead for five minutes. After splitting into four balls, I form small, flat semi-circles.?
Once in the fat, they sizzle and instantly start to rise. They look more like poppadoms than pizzas, and when I remove them, the texture seems almost doughnutty.
I slosh on tomato sauce and mozzarella and pop under the grill. ALICE’S VERDICT: not the lightest I’ve ever tasted, but still tasty. I like the crisp dough. 6/10 CALORIES BEFORE FRYING: 410 for half a large pizza. DEEP-FRIED CALORIES: 505 NUTRITIONIST SAYS: Compared with a normal thin-base pizza you’re getting up to 100 calories more, but it’s still lighter than a deep-pan or stuffed-crust base. DEEP-FRIED RAVIOLI IN CIABATTA CRUMBS I CHEAT and buy fresh ravioli. Life’s too short to make pasta. HOW: I cover them in flour and buttermilk and roll them in ciabatta crumbs before frying for a minute. ALICE’S VERDICT: These are horrid and dry. They taste like cheap crisps and I want a long drink of water afterwards. 5/10
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