Mixed fried fish: the recipe for preparing it to perfection

ingredients

Ingredients

Calamari

300 gr

Shrimp

300 gr

sole

200 gr

Anchovies

250 gr

Mullet

250 gr

Merluzzetti

250 gr

salt

to taste

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re-milled durum wheat semolina

to taste

Sunflower oil

1 l

Lemon

Mixed fried fish is a timeless classic of Italian cuisine. Golden, crunchy and with an unmistakable aroma, it lends itself to being consumed both as a second course , to be enjoyed by the sea in the company of a good glass of white wine, and as street food to be consumed, in the Neapolitan way, inside the cuoppo : the traditional straw paper parcel filled with seafood zeppoline , cod , anchovies , crab claws, cuttlefish and much more.

Preparing it requires a few simple precautions. First of all, the choice of fish , which must be very fresh and perfectly clean: the classic recipe involves the use of cod, prawns (to be fried with the entire shell), anchovies, red mullet, octopus and squid, but it can also be made with other species fish. Be careful with squid: for a greater guarantee of quality it is better to buy them whole and then cut into the classic rings, rather than already cut.

Then there is the type of breading (and the many schools of thought on the matter): there are those who use a batter prepared with flour and eggs, and those who simply use 00 flour. We suggest you coat the fish in re-milled wheat semolina hard and to do it very quickly: in this way the semolina will not become moist, leaving the fried food dry and light. Alternatively you can use rice flour , also perfect for gluten intolerants and with an equally tasty yield.

And last, but not least, there is oil . For impeccable fried food that melts in your mouth it is essential that it is made with seeds (preferably sunflower) and at the right temperature , i.e. between 175 and 180 °C. In fact, with a temperature that is too low, the fish would absorb too much oil, resulting in it being soft and heavy, and with a temperature that is too high it would burn and remain raw inside. If you don’t have a kitchen thermometer at home, drop a little semolina or a small piece of potato into the pan: if it immediately rises to the surface and starts to sizzle, the oil is ready. Fry a few pieces at a time (to prevent the temperature from dropping too much) and, preferably, of the same type and cut: different species of fish require different cooking times.

Once ready, the fried food should be drained on a sheet of absorbent kitchen paper , salted and served with a splash of lemon juice , strictly hot and fresh. But if you want to prepare it a few hours in advance or have some left over for the next day, you can heat the oven to 100°C, turn it off and put the fish in for a maximum of 1 hour: in this way it will return to being delicious and fragrant as freshly made.

Find out how to prepare mixed fried fish following the step-by-step procedure and advice.