Serves 4-6
110g (4oz) plain flour
110g (4oz) cornflour
2 level teaspoons baking powder
400ml cold water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegetables/herbs:
Choose a selection of the following:
Courgette (with flowers if desired)
Beetroot
Fresh young broad beans in pods
Small aubergine
Sage, lovage, basil leaves
Sunflower oil for deep frying
- To make the batter, put the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix in the cold water little by little until you have a batter about the thickness of double cream. Prepare the vegetables that you want to use, slicing the courgettes and beetroot thinly. Heat about 4cm of oil in a heavy-bottomed pan until a cube of bread sizzles in it. Dip the prepared vegetables and herbs in the batter a few at a time and deep fry for about 2 minutes until crisp, moving them around while they are cooking with a slotted spoon. Remove from the fat, drain on kitchen paper and season with salt. Arrange on a serving dish with the dipping sauce if you wish.
For the Dipping Sauce:
2 teaspoons of sesame or olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 heaped tablespoons of clear honey
A lump of fresh root ginger, about the size of a walnut
- Grate the fresh root ginger squeezing out the juices at the same time into a bowl. Mix all the remaining ingredients for the sauce together well. Serve alongside the battered vegetables and herbs.