Vegetable Fritto Misto With Lemon Mayonnaise

LilPinkieJ's Note:

Recipe is by Giada De Laurentiis. I haven't seen the show it was on since we don't have cable tv anymore. Food TV is about the only thing I really miss. I did alter her recipe a bit to add an egg wash. I tried it without it and the flour just fell off in the oil.

• Total Time: 22 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 12 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/8 cup water

Fritto Misto

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 small cauliflower, cut into 1-inch florets
• 4 ounces green beans, halved
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 lemon, cut into 1/4-inch slices

Lemon Mayonnaise

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1/2 lemon)

Directions:

1. For the fritto misto: In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, salt and pepper. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour enough oil to fill the pan about 1/3 of the way. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 375 degrees F. (If you don't have a thermometer a cube of bread will brown in about 1 minute.).
2. Mix the egg and water together to make the egg wash. Dip the cauliflower, green beans, fennel, garbanzo beans, and lemon slices in the egg wash, then dredge in the flour to coat. Fry the dredged ingredients for 1 to 3 minutes until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels.
3. For the lemon mayonnaise: In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise and lemon juice together until smooth. Pour into a small dipping or serving bowl.
4. Arrange the fritto misto on a platter and serve with the lemon mayonnaise.
5. If you don't want the lemon mayo, a good squeeze of fresh lemon does the trick too! Try this with other vegetables too. I'm going to do eggplant and zucchini next.

Reviews

[susie cooks]

Wow Jess! This is a fantastic recipe! So easy and delicious. I love the garbanzo beans, crisp on the outside and nice and creamy on the inside. The cauliflower is awesome! I am not a big fan of green beans but they were really good this way. And the fennel is so good. Some of the pieces I cut were smaller than the rest and the smaller pieces were done perfect. Lemon mayo...YUMM!