After the success of the fried veal brains, I thought I'd share another of my favorite parts of Piedmontese fritto misto: sweet semolino.
The amazing thing is that it's delicious and incredibly simple to make… and if you don't want to bread it and fry it… do it anyway; it's delicious even unfried.
Ingredients
500g milk
110g semolina flour
60g sugar (I partially replaced about 30g with the aromatic syrup drained from homemade candied orange and lemon peel, but in all other cases, just add the zest of one lemon directly to the milk)
The zest of one lemon
A pinch of vanilla
A dash of liqueur (optional)
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For the breading
Eggs and breadcrumbs
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Heat the milk with the lemon zest, sugar, and vanilla, stirring so that the sugar dissolves, and wait until the first bubbles appear (medium-low heat).
Sprinkle in the semolina. Stir constantly for 5-10 minutes until it reaches the firmest consistency possible.
Add a splash of liqueur and stir in with the heat off (if desired).
Some recipes incorporate an egg at this point… it's unnecessary, so leave it out.
Instead, pour the mixture into a container and let it cool thoroughly until it becomes a solid mass ready to be cut (preferably overnight in the refrigerator if you're not in a hurry). The consistency should remind you of cold polenta.
Once you've cut your sweet semolina into pieces, you can eat it as is (it's delicious as is), but if you want it like a fritto misto, dip it in the egg and coat it lightly in breadcrumbs.
3 minutes in hot oil at 190°C is more than enough (it shouldn't be too brown if you want to fully appreciate the semolina's citrus flavor). Even less color, as shown in the photo, is fine.
I used peanut oil.
The outside will be crunchy (and not oily), the inside will be soft and fragrant.
by LiefLayer
Dining and Cooking