Fritto misto is an Italian dish of deep-fried meat, fish and/or vegetables and is an ideal summer dish. The secret to achieving a particularly crispy batter is to use gluten-free flour.

OYSTER AND ASPARAGUS FRITTO MISTO WITH BLACK OLIVE DIP

Serves 2 as a starter

Ingredients

Black olive dip

3 tbsp mayonnaise

10 pitted black olives, finely chopped

1 tsp capers, finely chopped

1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed

Batter

100g gluten-free plain flour

ó tsp baking powder

140ml dry cider

12 oysters, freshly shucked

8 thin spears of asparagus

4 thin spring onions, trimmed and scored at the ends

400ml frying oil

ó lemon cut into quarters to serve

Method

Black olive dip

• In a small bowl, mix the dip ingredients together and spoon into a serving dish.

Batter

• In a bowl, season the flour then whisk in the baking powder and cider. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Frying

• Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan until hot but not smoking.
• In small batches, carefully dip the oysters, asparagus and spring onions in the batter, allowing any excess batter to drip back into the bowl.
• Fry in the oil for a couple of minutes, then drain on a tray with kitchen paper. If the vegetables or oysters sink to the bottom while frying, use a slotted spoon to carefully dislodge them after 1 minute of cooking.

To serve

• Once all are fried and drained, serve hot with the black olive dip and lemon wedges.