Fritto Misto

Fritto Misto di Mare

A crisp Italian fried-seafood antipasto of prawns, squid and small fish dredged in flour and fried quickly in hot oil, finished with lemon and sea salt.

Prep

20 min

Cook

10 min

Total

30 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •400 g (14 oz) cleaned squid, tubes and tentacles, patted very dry
• •300 g (10½ oz) whole prawns, shell on, head on or removed as you prefer; deveined
• •300 g (10½ oz) small whole fish, such as smelts, anchovies or small sardines, gutted and dried
• •200 g (7 oz) all-purpose flour, fine '00' flour or plain flour; semolina optional for extra crunch
• •1 L (4 cups) peanut or sunflower oil, neutral, high-smoke-point oil for shallow frying; olive oil is traditional but burns easily — see note in steps
• •1 whole lemon, cut into wedges for serving
• •10 g (2 tsp) fine sea salt, to taste
• •5 g (1 tsp) freshly ground black pepper, optional
• •100 g (3½ oz) mixed vegetables, optional: zucchini sticks, artichoke hearts, sage or bay leaves for color

Steps

1. 1 Set a wide heavy pan or deep fryer over medium-high and pour in about 1 L / 4 cups of oil to a depth of 3–4 cm / 1½ inches. Heat to 180 °C / 350 °F — use a thermometer; the oil must be hot enough that the seafood sizzles immediately on contact, or it will absorb oil and turn greasy.
2. 2 While the oil heats, thoroughly dry all the seafood on clean kitchen towels — surface moisture is the main enemy of a crisp fritto. Slice squid tubes into 1 cm / ½ inch rings and leave tentacles whole. Leave prawns in their shells (they stay juicier). Pat small fish dry inside and out.
3. 3 Put the flour in a wide bowl with the salt and pepper. Working in small batches, toss the seafood in the flour, shaking off the excess so only a thin, even coat remains. Do not crowd the pan.
4. 4 Fry in batches by cooking time: first the small fish (about 2 minutes), then the squid rings and tentacles (about 90 seconds — they must be removed as soon as they turn pale gold to stay tender), then the prawns (about 2 minutes, until the shells turn rosy and crisp). Maintain 180 °C / 350 °F between batches.
5. 5 Drain each batch on a wire rack set over a tray — not on paper towels, which trap steam and soften the crust. Sprinkle immediately with a pinch of fine sea salt while still sizzling.
6. 6 If using vegetables or herb leaves, dredge and fry them last, 30–60 seconds, until just golden and crisp.
7. 7 Arrange everything on a warm platter, tuck lemon wedges around the edge, and serve immediately. Fritto misto waits for no one — eat within a few minutes for maximum crunch.