Fritto misto

Lifestyle Recipes Entertaining Fritto misto Light and perfectly fried, this Italian medley of battered seafood and vegetables makes for the ultimate snack Save Comment speech bubble icon Gift this article free Gift article Give full access to this article, free time. You have 15 articles left to gift, this month. Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer Diana Henry is the Telegraph’s much-loved cookery writer. She shares recipes each week, for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. She is also a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4, and her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters.    See more Published 11 June 2026 4:09pm BST Related Topics Prawn recipes, Asparagus recipes, Aubergine recipes, Squid, Courgette recipes, Spring onion recipes Save Comment speech bubble icon Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Gift this article free Gift article Give full access to this article, free time. You have 15 articles left to gift, this month. Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source You don't have to do the seafood if you want to serve a vegetarian dish Credit: Haarala Hamilton and Valerie Berry Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer Diana Henry is the Telegraph’s much-loved cookery writer. She shares recipes each week, for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. She is also a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4, and her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters.    See more Published 11 June 2026 4:09pm BST You can serve just deep-fried vegetables or deep-fried seafood, you don’t have to serve both, but once I’m in deep-frying mode it seems a shame not to, well, deep-fry everything. The consistency of the batter is really important. It needs to be the thickness of double cream, so add the water carefully. You may not need it all, you may need just a little more (flour absorbs liquid at different rates, depending on its age). If the batter is too thin it won’t cling properly. Requires 1 hour resting time   Overview Prep time 15 mins Cook time 30 mins Serves 4 , or more if it's a starter Ingredients For the batter 250g Italian 00-grade flour 4 tbsp olive oil 1 egg white For the vegetables 2 litres oil, for deep-frying 8 asparagus stalks, woody ends removed 8 baby courgettes 1 medium aubergine, cut into slim rounds 12 small Swiss-chard leaves 8 spring onions, tufty ends trimmed For the fish 200g cleaned squid, cut into rings 200g king prawns (leave the tail on if you can buy them like that) lemon wedges, to serve Method Step Put the oven on a low heat, so you can put each batch of fried food in there while you make the rest (or you can just stand there and hand everything over to your guests as you do it). Step To make the batter, sift 250g Italian 00-grade flour into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Step Pour in 4 tbsp olive oil then, whisking as you do so, start gradually adding 300ml warm water, until the mixture is smooth and as thick as double cream, then rest it for an hour. Step Place a large double layer of kitchen paper somewhere close to your hob. Beat 1 egg white until it forms soft peaks, then gently fold it into the batter. Step Heat about 5in of the 2 litres oil to 180C in a large pan – as soon as you add food to the oil it will bubble up, so you need room in the pan above the surface of the oil.  Step During cooking, you need to keep an eye on the temperature of the oil, moving it off the hob altogether at times, then heating it again. If you don’t watch the temperature, you risk burning the batter before the vegetables inside are cooked. Step When the oil reaches 180C, dip 8 asparagus stalks (woody ends removed), 8 baby courgettes, 1 medium aubergine (cut into slim rounds), 12 small Swiss-chard leaves and 8 spring onions (tufty ends trimmed) in the batter, shake off the excess, then quickly get it into the hot oil, cooking each vegetable separately. Step Stir so they don’t stick together. Reasonably thick asparagus and baby courgettes take 5 minutes to cook; rounds of aubergine 3 minutes; Swiss chard leaves and spring onions 1-2 minutes. Drain them on the kitchen paper, sprinkle with salt, then place in the oven to keep warm. Step Cook 200g squid (cleaned and cut into rings) and 200g king prawns (tails left on if you can buy them like that) separately, in the same way. The squid will take 1-2 minutes, depending on how thick it is; the prawns 40 seconds. Sprinkle these with salt as well. Step Serve everything on a large platter with wedges of lemon. Join the conversation Show comments The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our commenting policy. Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our commenting policy. Related Topics Prawn recipes, Asparagus recipes, Aubergine recipes, Squid, Courgette recipes, Spring onion recipes License this content You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. Find out more here. Log In Subscribe Advertisement More Stories