Fritto Misto with Curried Aquafaba Mayo

The classic Italian fried platter, without the fish, and made almost entirely from things that were on their way out. The soft old lemon, the bendy carrot, a mushroom, the last cauliflower floret, the leaves off a beetroot. All of it battered until crisp and golden, and dunked in a curried mayo made from the water out of a can of chickpeas. Let's fry!

Why This Fritto Misto Works

Half cornflour is the whole trick. Cornflour has no gluten, so the coating sets brittle and shattery instead of soft and bready. Equal parts plain flour and cornflour is the ratio worth remembering for anything you fry.

A lumpy batter fries better than a smooth one. Whipping it develops gluten and knocks the air out. Break it together gently, leave the lumps, and you get a lighter, craggier crust.

Frying rescues veg that nothing else will. A bendy carrot is unpleasant raw and dull boiled. Sliced thin and fried in a crisp batter it is genuinely lovely, and so is the lemon, skin and all.

Aquafaba makes real mayonnaise. The liquid in a tin of chickpeas behaves like egg white, and roughly 3 tablespoons stands in for one egg. It whips, it emulsifies, and it usually goes down the drain.

Nothing here was bought for the dish. Beetroot tops, a soft lemon, the odds in the drawer, and the water you were about to pour away.

Recipe Details

• Prep Time: 20 minutes, including the mayo
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Serves: 2 to 4, as a snack or a starter to share
• Difficulty: Easy
• Special Equipment: Something to whip the mayo, and a way to judge oil temperature

Two things decide whether this works, and neither is the recipe. The first is not overmixing the batter. You want it about the thickness of double cream and still visibly lumpy, because every bit of that texture becomes crust. The second is the oil, at 180C. Too cool and the batter drinks it and goes heavy. Too hot and the outside is dark before a slice of carrot has softened. If you have no thermometer, drop a little batter in and watch it. It should rise and sizzle briskly within a second or two, not sit and bubble lazily and not brown instantly. The other thing worth saying is about the lemon. People are always surprised you can eat a fried lemon slice whole, skin and pith and all, but the heat takes the harshness out and what is left is sharp and fragrant and cuts through the whole plate. It is the best thing on it and it came off a lemon that was too soft for anything else.

Ingredients

For the fritto misto

• 3 beetroot leaves
• 3 sage leaves
• 3 slices of old lemon
• 1 bendy carrot, sliced thinly
• A few mushrooms, sliced
• A few cauliflower florets
• 1 to 2 sticks of celery, cut into batons
• 100g plain flour
• 100g cornflour
• Water, to mix
• Oil, for deep frying
• Salt, to season

Use whatever is flagging in your own fridge. The list above is simply what was in mine.

For the curried aquafaba mayo

• 3 tbsp aquafaba, the liquid from a can of chickpeas
• Juice of the old lemon
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 tsp curry powder
• About 100ml oil, trickled in slowly
• Salt, to taste

How to Make Fritto Misto with Curried Aquafaba Mayo

1. Make the mayo first. Put the aquafaba in a bowl or a stand mixer and whip it until frothy and white. Get it moving properly before anything else goes in.
2. Flavour it. Add the lemon juice, mustard, curry powder and a pinch of salt, and whip again.
3. Trickle in the oil. Slowly, in a thin stream, with the whisk running the whole time, until it thickens to a mayonnaise. Rushing this is the only way to split it.
4. Make the batter. Mix the plain flour and cornflour together, then add water gradually, breaking it up gently with a fork. Stop at the thickness of double cream. Do not whip it, and leave it lumpy.
5. Prep your veg. Slice the carrot, mushroom and celery thinly, break the cauliflower into small florets, slice the lemon, and leave the beetroot and sage leaves whole.
6. Heat the oil to 180C. Test it with a drop of batter, which should rise and sizzle briskly within a second or two.
7. Batter and fry in batches. Dunk each piece, let the excess run off, and lower it into the oil. Fry until pale gold and crisp, turning if it needs it. Do not crowd the pan.
8. Season straight away. Onto kitchen paper and salt them the second they come out, while the surface is still hot enough to hold it.
9. Serve with the mayo. A big dollop on the side, and eat it while it is hot.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• The stragglers get a proper send off: Beetroot tops, a soft lemon, a bendy carrot
• Seriously crisp: The cornflour makes a coating that shatters
• Mayo from nothing: The chickpea water you always pour away
• Vegan without trying: No egg anywhere in it
• Made for sharing: A plate in the middle of the table with a drink

Chef's Tips for Fritto Misto with Curried Aquafaba Mayo

Do not whip the batter. This is the one that catches everybody. A smooth batter makes a smooth, soft, slightly bready coating. A lumpy one makes a craggy, brittle one, and craggy is what you want.

Get the mayo whipping before you add anything. Aquafaba needs to be frothy and holding air before the acid and oil go in, exactly as you would with egg white.

Trickle the oil, do not pour it. A thin, steady stream with the whisk running. If it splits, whip a fresh tablespoon of aquafaba in a clean bowl and trickle the split mixture into that.

Fry the leaves last. Beetroot and sage leaves take seconds and burn while you are still turning a carrot. Do the dense things first and the leaves at the end.

Eat the lemon slices. Skin, pith and all. Frying tames the bitterness completely and they are the sharpest, best thing on the plate.

Season the instant they leave the oil. Salt clings to a hot, oily surface and slides straight off a cool one.

Save the chickpeas. You have opened the tin for the water, so the chickpeas themselves want using. Hummus, a curry, or roasted with the same spices.

Substitutions & Variations

• Any firm veg: Courgette, fennel, broccoli, green beans, onion rings, thin slices of squash
• Any soft herb leaf: Sage, basil, parsley or beetroot tops, all fried for seconds only
• No cornflour? Rice flour is even crisper. All plain flour works but the crust is softer
• Sparkling water instead of still makes a lighter batter again
• Change the mayo: Skip the curry powder for a plain aioli, or swap in smoked paprika or harissa
• Shallow fry in a centimetre of oil if you would rather not fill a pan

Storage

Best eaten fresh: Immediately, standing at the stove, which is the correct way.

Fridge: The mayo keeps four days in a jar. The fried veg does not keep at all and goes limp within the hour.

Freezer: Not applicable to either.

Avoid: Reheating the fritto misto. It never comes back, and a microwave turns it to a wet sponge.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is aquafaba? The starchy liquid chickpeas are cooked and canned in. The proteins and starches in it behave remarkably like egg white, so it whips, holds air and emulsifies. Roughly 3 tablespoons stands in for one egg.

Can I use the liquid from any tin of beans? Chickpea water is the best because it is the starchiest and the most neutral. Cannellini and butter bean liquid work at a push. Kidney bean liquid is too dark and too strongly flavoured.

Why did my mayo split? The oil went in too fast. Whip a fresh tablespoon of aquafaba in a clean bowl and trickle the split mixture into it slowly, and it will come back together.

How do I know the oil is hot enough without a thermometer? Drop in a little batter. It should rise to the surface and sizzle briskly within a second or two. If it sinks and bubbles slowly the oil is too cool, and if it browns immediately it is too hot.

Why is my batter soggy rather than crisp? Either the batter was overmixed and went smooth, or the oil was not hot enough, or the pan was crowded so the temperature dropped. All three are the same problem in the end.

Can I really eat the lemon slices whole? Yes, skin and all, and they are the best bit. Slice them thinly and the heat takes the harshness out of the pith.

Is this vegan? Yes, all of it. The mayo uses aquafaba rather than egg, and there is nothing else in the dish that is not a vegetable.

Can I make the mayo ahead? Yes, four days in a jar in the fridge. It firms up a little when cold, so let it sit out for a few minutes before serving.

You Might Also Like

The Food Waste Banquet - The full trash to table feast this came from, with every recipe in it.

Chocolate Mousse Made From Chickpea Water (Aquafaba) - The dessert from the same banquet, and the other half of that tin.

Veggie Peel Bhajis - The other fried scrap dish from the same night.

Fridge Raid Salad with Herb Stalk Dressing - The sharp, fresh thing to cut through all this.

Don't Throw That Away, Zero Waste Recipes for Every Kitchen Scrap - The full guide to using up everything.

Next time you open a tin of chickpeas, stop before you tip that liquid down the sink. And have a proper look in the drawer at the bottom of the fridge first, because there is very likely a plate of this in there already.

Enjoy!

Del x

A crisp fried vegetable platter made from fridge stragglers, with a curried mayo whipped up from chickpea water.