In a previous post, I talked about how much Italians love frying and how averse to this cooking technique Americans seem to be. (Click here to see that post) The reasons for this reluctance are many and completely understandable: the smell of cooked oil that lingers in the house; the fear of getting burned by hot oil, a real and present danger; the fear of not getting it right and producing an inedible mess, wasting time and money.

Growing up I knew very little about how to fry and shared many of those fears. In my family, we never made fried food at home, we went out to get our fix. I have fond memories of Howard Johnson’s fried fish special on Friday nights.

When I moved to Tuscany, I was in awe of how simple they made it look. Working with Loredana, my Tuscan mentor, I stood at the stove and watched her turn out platter after platter of perfectly fried, golden brown nuggets of rabbit or cardoons or eggplant. I wanted to be able to master frying without fear, to have complete confidence in turning out evenly cooked and beautifully golden crunchy goodness. In the end it was just a matter of practice.

The process is simple. You need a skillet or saute pan with oil, kept hot over a moderately high fire. Pat the meat or vegetables with paper toweling before dipping in the batter. Don’t crowd the pan. After a few batches the oil may cool down; let it heat back up to temperature before continuing with another batch. Use tongs to turn each piece as it browns and when the pieces are evenly browned, lift each piece with tongs and let the oil drip back into the pan. Stand each piece up on paper towels to drain.

Each season brings something new to fry, so start here, keep practicing and Buon Appetito!

Pastella per Friggere (batter for frying)

1 cup flour

1 cup white wine (or beer for fish)

½ teas sea salt

peanut oil

This is enough to fry 20 zucchini blossoms or a pound of mushrooms. Make as much as you need.

Put the flour and salt in a bowl, whisk together and begin adding the wine in a slow steady stream while whisking constantly, until you have incorporated all the flour and the mixture is smooth with the consistency of thin pancake batter.

Put 1½-2” peanut oil in a deep skillet and heat until drops of batter bubble immediately and turn brown quickly. Dip each piece of food into the batter and add to the oil until the pan is full but not crowded; turning each piece when it’s golden brown. Drain each piece on paper before serving.