Vegetables to be deep fried fall into two categories;
(a) Items that have to be boiled or steamed before being deep fried may be coated in batter, e.g. cauliflower and salsify.
(b) Items which are deep fried without prior cooking, e.g. eggplant, baby marrow and onions, are generally fried in the French style (à la Française) by passing them first through milk and then seasoned flour. The vegetables are usually cut into slices before frying.
Vegetables deep fried in batter
Retention
Ideally, this type of product should be cooked and served to order. If it must be held and where there is no specialized equipment available, it should be placed on absorbent kitchen paper and kept in a hot cupboard at a temperature of 26°C.
If the vegetables are held at too high a temperature, this will adversely affect their crispness, colour and flavour and they will become stale looking. If held at a moderately hot constant temperature, the items will weep and become soft.
Do not cover deep fried vegetables with a lid once they are cooked as the steam will condense against the lid and fall back upon the food causing it to become damp and soggy.
Makes: 10 portions. Cooking time: 5-8 minutes. Cooking temperature: 175 °C
Ingredients:
— 1½ kg boiled salsify
— 1 dl oil
— 1 lemon of juice
— 5 grams chopped parsley
— salt and pepper
— 250 grams seasoned flour
— yeast batter
— salt
Method:
(1) Marinade the cooked and drained salsify for approximately 30 minutes.
(2) Pass through seasoned flour and shake off all the surplus.
(3) Pass the vegetables through the batter, drain off all the excess and deep fry.
(4) Once cooked, drain thoroughly on absorbent kitchen paper and season with salt.
(5) Serve on a dish paper in a vegetable dish.
Service:
Serve in a vegetable dish lined with a dish paper, or serve on an oval silver or stainless steel flat dish with a dish paper or a cloth napkin. This item should not be served covered with a lid.
Assessment of the completed dish
(1) Outer coating of batter should be light golden in color, crisp and firm.
(2) The outer skin of the batter should be crisp with no floury batter inside surrounding the vegetable pieces.
(3) The vegetable should be seasoned but with no sign of salt on the dish paper or napkin.
(4) There should be no sign of oil on the dish paper or napkin.
(5) The vegetables should be loosely but neatly arranged in a heap in the centre of the dish.
Possible problem, cause and solution:
(1) Batter will not color:
— fat was not hot enough; ensure that the fat is at the correct temperature before frying as this problem cannot later be rectified.
— too many vegetable pieces fried at once; this reduces the temperature of the fat and should be avoided as it cannot be rectified later.
— fat not allowed to reheat between batches; the fat must be allowed to recover its heat before the next items are added to avoid this problem which cannot later be rectified.
— incorrect type of flour used for the batter; care must be taken that the correct type of
Hour (i.e. soft or ordinary) is used to make the batter to avoid this problem as it cannot be rectified later.
— insufficient sugar used in the batter; care must be taken to prepare the batter correctly to avoid this problem which cannot be rectified later.
(2) Vegetable pieces become soggy and break during cooking:
— fat was not hot enough; ensure that the fat is at the correct temperature before frying as this problem cannot be rectified later.
— too many vegetable pieces fried at once; this reduces the temperature of the fat and should be avoided as the problem cannot be rectified later.
— items were handled too much during frying, e.g. stirred too often with a spider; this must be avoided as the problem cannot be rectified later.
— a frying basket was used; this should be avoided as the problem cannot be rectified later.
— outer coating of batter not allowed to set before handling with the spider; ensure that the batter has set during the initial stages before using a spider to avoid this problem which cannot later be rectified.
(3) Batter runs off the vegetable pieces during cooking:
– batter was too thin; care must be taken when preparing the batter as this problem cannot be rectified later.
— fat was not hot enough; ensure that the fat is at the correct temperature before frying as this problem cannot be rectified later.
(4) Completed item has an inner doughy layer:
— batter was too thick; care must be taken when preparing the batter to avoid this as it cannot be rectified later.
— vegetables were not passed through flour before coating with the batter; care must be taken to follow the correct coating procedure as this problem cannot later be rectified.
(5) Completed items lack flavor:
— items were not held correctly after cooking; ensure that the correct procedures are followed for storage after cooking.
— batter not seasoned; care must be taken when preparing the batter as this cannot be rectified later.