Beer Breaded Garlic Mushrooms

I've been loosing weight recently. As I've not been putting much effort into healthy eating or been to the gym, this can at least in part be attributed to the deep fat fryer remaining in the cupboard for the past few months.

I created a recipe for Mint Double Chocolate Torte a couple of weeks back, but have been to scared to actually make it. Whilst I'm quite convinced that it'd be lovely, it'd also be rich and loaded with calories. I got as far as making the base for it this time last week, then chickened out.

This is probably a step forward in my life; I've been wanting to find a healthy diet that I enjoy without feeling like I'm constantly denying myself tasty food. I've tried 'dieting' in the past and whilst it gives short term results, it's an unpleasant experience and doesn't fix the longer term problem - wanting to eat foods containing more calories than I know I'll burn.

It's not all doom and gloom though - I still hate most vegetables and had a most enjoyable, gluttonous meal on Saturday night. Whilst I'm considering trying some more raw recipes this week, last night I bowed to Twitter pressure to deep fry and had a go at making breaded mushrooms. I'd not had any in years - all I've found recently have contained egg.

I've not breaded anything before, but it was surprisingly easy - the tester one came out perfectly. I guess that most people use egg to help the breadcrumbs stick, but this is easily substituted for batter (and gives me an excuse to sneak some booze into the meal).

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

• 150g Baby Button Mushrooms
• Beer Batter
• 1 tsp Garlic Granules
• 4 Slices Fresh White Bread

I started by making up a bowl of beer batter, to which I added a tsp of Garlic Granules. I think on reflection that I could have added 2 tsp.

I lightly toasted the bread, then made into fine crumbs using my kitchenaid blender on slowest speed (I expect a food processor would also work).

The mushrooms I washed and cut the hard stalks off, then heated the oil to 175^oC.

Toss each of the undried mushrooms in a bowl of flour, then transfer to the batter. Ensure they're entirely coated, then roll in breadcrumbs. If you do it with a reasonable amount of speed then you shouldn't have issues coating all sides.

Immediately after rolling; drop each into the hot oil using a spoon just above the surface. You'll probably want to try one first, then do the rest in a couple of batches.

Try to add all mushrooms in each batch to the oil within a couple of minutes of each other, then fry for 5 minutes. Turn them a couple of minutes into cooking, to ensure they crisp evenly.

Drain off as much oil as possible and transfer to a bowl with kitchen tissue. Set aside until required, then fry again for 1 minute to re-heat. Serve with garlic mayonnaise :)

Deep Fried Raw Nakd Cashew Bars

Mmmmmmm; raw food.

OK, so I realise that there's something inherently wrong about this blog post, I just can't figure out what it is. I <3 raw food and I <3 deep frying, so surely it's all good?

I started eating Nakd bars as soon as they came out and have consumed several hundred of their larger bars over the past few years (mostly as breakfast - I'm generally raw these days before 12). Their new smaller bars are alright, despite looking like something suspiciously different. I like the cashew type the most, however due to their size they're not quite a meal replacement.

So how better than served deep fried in cider batter?

I admit, I did this as a joke. I'd just made my dinner and was on the hunt for something to deep fry for dessert. I am however extremely surprised by how good it tastes!

It's not in the oil long enough to get really hot, but the heat it does get melts it slightly and makes the date become quite toffee like.

The batter is from a recipe I posted in December, using cider (hard cider) instead of beer.


I don't really have anything else to say, other than that I'm definitely making this again!! :D

Cream Doughnuts

Having been told in a health checkup this week that my cholesterol level is too low to be read (using 3 separate blood samples in two machines) I decided to celebrate with a spot of deep frying.

I sometimes make special trips to Co-op to buy their doughtnuts and used to buy Tesco and M&S ones when they were suitable. Nothing beats a freshly fried one however.

I veganised a recipe a few years back and whilst it worked, the taste just wasn't quite right. I was inspired by Terre a Terre to have another go and am pleased to report that the results were pretty good.

As always I'm going to give an honest review and not just say they're amazing because I made them. Fresh out the frier they were amazing - just like ones from fun fairs. I think this recipe would work best for traditional ring doughnuts served hot. Once cooled and filled (as I did with the remainder) they weren't as good. Therefore next time I make them I'll either do ring or play with the recipe a bit.

Ingredients (4 huge doughnuts):

• 250g Strong White Bread Flour
• 25g Margerine
• 150ml Water
• 1/2 tsp Dried Active Yeast
• Pinch of Salt
• Pinch of Sugar

Place all ingredients in a bread maker and select the Italian dough/pizza setting (45 minutes on my Panasonic).

Place the dough on a floured surface and kneed for a couple of minutes with your hands.

Divide the mixture into 4 and shape into lozenges. Place on an oiled try in a warm area for 20-30 minutes (I use an oven that's been heated to 50^oc, then turned off). During this time they should smooth out and gain in volume.

Heat your fryer to 190^oc and cook each doughnut for about 3 minutes (turning regularly).

I've just acquired a camera that shoots 720p video, which is a vast improvement on my iPhone's terrible video application that I used earlier this year for my pancake recipe. Thus I've decided to play around with vlogging a bit more:


They should float as soon as you place them in the oil and start bubbling immediately. Within 30 seconds you'll be able to turn it over. Once cooked remove the basket and shake off excess oil, then roll in sugar.

If filling, allow to cool first. I tried Soyatoo squirty cream, however piped whipping cream would have been better. I'd also recommend using standard jam - the stuff I used was a bit too syruppy and synthetic tasting.

Chips

Diet starts January.

I thought it was worth blogging info on how to fry chips properly. It's not particularly difficult to do, but will ensure you crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside chips every time, not soggy, oily nastiness.

Though not healthy by any means, frying food with high water content essentially steams the inside (as the water boils) whilst crisping the outside. Provided you get the temperature right it should not soak up oil or significantly increase the fat content compared to shallow frying/roasting.

To get good results you need to twice fry the chips, first at 170^c and second at 190^oc. The first fry cooks the potato, the second develops the outside.

Use Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes if available. If not use whatever is considered in your part of the world to be the best for frying. Use cheaper potatoes at your peril. You'll need 1-2 large potatoes per person. Try to cut the slices so that they're roughly even sizes, discarding small pieces if required. This will help ensure that they all cook at the same speed. You may want to shave a slither off the side of oddly shaped potatoes to then get a more even cut, but don't go over the top in a quest to create perfectly identical chips!


Cook at 170^oc for 4-5 minutes, then remove the basket and shake off excess oil. Change the temperature to 190^oc and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. When you think they're done it's worth trying one, just to make sure.


Drain, dry and serve immediately with malt vinegar and sea salt.