Fritto Misto di Mare
Photo: Alex Favali on Pexels
Italian

Fritto Misto di Mare

Italy's greatest fried seafood — fritto misto di mare, a glorious tumble of lightly battered and fried mixed seafood: small squid, prawns, whitebait, baby sardines and scallops all coated in the lightest possible dusting of semolina or flour and flash-fried until golden. The Italian coastal secret is the light coating — semolina, not heavy batter.

Total
35 min
Serves
4
Level
Medium

Prep 15 min · Cook 20 min

Ingredients

4 servings

Method

  1. Pat all seafood completely dry with paper towels. Moisture is the enemy of crispy fritto misto.

    About 4 min

  2. Mix semolina with salt in a large bowl. Toss seafood in the semolina to coat lightly; shake off all excess in a sieve.

    About 9 min

  3. Heat oil to 180°C. Fry in very small batches — one type at a time so the oil temperature does not drop. Whitebait: 1 minute. Squid rings: 2 minutes. Prawns: 2 minutes.

    About 9 min

  4. Drain each batch; season immediately with salt.

    About 9 min

  5. Pile on a platter lined with paper. Serve immediately — fritto misto is eaten the moment it is fried. Squeeze lemon; scatter parsley.

    About 3 min

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

Calories
420
Protein
42 g
Carbs
30 g
Fat
16 g
Fibre
1 g
Sugar
1 g
Sodium
560 mg

Contains: gluten, fish, shellfish

All Italian recipes

Recipe by Boon Tools.