Name: Fritto Misto
Yield: 4 SERVINGS
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 lb. head-on shrimp, peeled and deveined, with head left on; 1 lb. anchovies, white bait, smelt, or other small whole fish* (see note in recipe); 1 lb. cleaned squid, cut in 1/2-inch pieces; Salt; 8 cups vegetable oil (Zimmern likes grapeseed or peanut oil); 4 cups all-purpose flour; 2 tsp. ground white pepper; 6 tbsp. potato starch; 2 cups very dry white wine; 4 parsley sprigs; 4 sage sprigs; 2 basil sprigs; ½ cup club soda, plus more if needed; ½ cup ice; Lemon wedges; Sea salt mixed with red chile flakes and ground in a mortar and pestle; Special equipment: candy/fryer thermometer

“This dish of mixed fried seafood should be served with lemon and sea salt. Period. Let the flavors of the fish, squid, and shrimp shine through here. When I cook this at home, I serve it as an appetizer or hors d’oeuvre in my kitchen, with my guests bellied up to the counter, drinking aperitifs or a glass of champagne,” writes Andrew Zimmern in The Blue Food Cookbook. Zimmern serves the dish by seafood type, frying one kind as another is eaten. “Fried food this perfect, when eaten hot out of the oil, is heavenly. If it sits for a few minutes, it’s good. If it sits for five minutes, the magic is gone. Try it once my way and you will be hooked forever.”

Read our Q&A with Zimmern here.

Fritto Misto

Yield: 4 SERVINGS

Ingredients

- 1 lb. head-on shrimp, peeled and deveined, with head left on
- 1 lb. anchovies, white bait, smelt, or other small whole fish* (see note in recipe)
- 1 lb. cleaned squid, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
- Salt
- 8 cups vegetable oil (Zimmern likes grapeseed or peanut oil)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. ground white pepper
- 6 tbsp. potato starch
- 2 cups very dry white wine
- 4 parsley sprigs
- 4 sage sprigs
- 2 basil sprigs
- ½ cup club soda, plus more if needed
- ½ cup ice
- Lemon wedges
- Sea salt mixed with red chile flakes and ground in a mortar and pestle
- Special equipment: candy/fryer thermometer

Preparation

*Prepare the anchovies: Make a shallow incision at the bottom end of the belly and cut upward toward the head. Under running water, gently rinse away the innards. Lay on paper towels to dry well. If you don’t have small whole fish, use small fillets of fish a size up or fillets of thin fish like rouget or mackerel.
Prepare all the seafood: Make sure it is all very dry. Season with salt and set aside while you prepare your station.
Prepare your station: Heat the oil in a large deep pot or, even better, in a wok (that’s how Zimmern fries his fish) to 300°F. Keep a thermometer in the oil at all times.
Mix 2 cups of the flour with 2 tsp. salt and the white pepper in a pie tin and set it on the counter. Zimmern loves pie tins for dredging, and you can use thin metal tins or disposable tins.
Mix the remaining 2 cups of flour with the potato starch and 1 teaspoon salt in a very large bowl. Whisk in the wine.
Get organized on the side of the stove where your oil is. Place the batter next to the pot first, then place the flour dredge next to that, and put the seafood next to that. On the other side of the oil, place a tray lined with paper towels and a rack over that.
Fry the herbs and seafood: Have the lid of the pot ready beside the pot. When the oil reaches 300°F, add the parsley, sage, and basil, immediately cover (it will splatter), and fry until crisp; this will only take a few minutes, if that. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve on the rack. Raise the temperature of the oil to 375°F.
Whisk the club soda and ice into the batter.
Working in batches, dredge the shrimp in the seasoned flour and knock off any excess. Dip it into the batter. It should coat but run off. Add more club soda if the batter is too thick. Fry the shrimp, in two batches, for about 3 minutes, until golden. Remove with a mesh or wire strainer, reserve on the rack, and season with salt.
Serve on a plate with some of the herbs, lemon wedges, and chile salt.
Clean the oil of any burnt batter pieces.
When the shrimp have been eaten and the oil in the wok is back to 375°F, repeat the battering and frying process with the anchovies and serve to your guests with some of the remaining herbs and more lemon and chile salt as needed. Repeat again with the squid (or whatever other seafood you are frying). The rings of the squid will cook very quickly, only 1 or 2 minutes.