Grand Harbour Seafood Platter with Spiced Tartare Sauce
From Ainsley’s Taste of Malta, ITV
There’s nothing quite like a plateful of crispy fish and seafood with a chilled glass of wine to make you think of summer and we were spoilt for choice in the pretty harbour of Marsaxlokk. Fritto Misto is a great sharing dish to serve for guests – it looks impressive and is easy to make once you’re prepped. I like to add some crunchy vegetables to the mix and here I’ve added asparagus and courgette which complement the fish beautifully. I’m using a light batter coating rather than an egg batter for an easy and crisp result and the hint of spice reflects the North African influence on the Maltese cuisine. You can use whatever fish and seafood takes your fancy just adjust the cooking times accordingly.
Method
First make the tartare: in a small bowl mix together the mayo, capers, cornichons and dill. Add the lemon zest and a good squeeze of lemon juice and stir in the cayenne/paprika to taste. Cover and chill until needed.
Sift the flour, cornflour, baking powder, paprika, cayenne and salt into a large bowl. Whisk in enough cold soda water/sparkling water to make a thin creamy batter- a few little lumps are okay; don’t overmix.
Heat the oil in a large deep saucepan to 180-190C (oil is hot enough when it turns a piece of bread golden in 30 seconds)
Working in batches dip the fish, seafood and veg in the batter, ensuring that everything is well coated. Shake gently to remove any excess. Deep fry the fish fillets first for about 3-4 minutes until golden in colour and crispy, turning and separating gently if needed. Then fry the courgette, asparagus and squid for about 2-4 minutes until golden in colour. Lastly fry the prawns for 1-2 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper keeping each batch warm while frying the remainder.
Season with flaky sea salt. Serve on a large serving platter with the spiced tartare and the lemon wedges for squeezing.
Ingredients
- For the Seafood Platter
- 200g plain flour
- 125g cornflour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp sweet smoked paprika
- pinch of cayenne
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 450ml ice cold soda water/sparkling water
- 1 litre vegetable oil
- 300g firm white fish fillets, cut into bite size pieces
- 300g squid, washed and body cut into ½ cm rings
- 1 courgette, cut into batons
- 8-12 thin asparagus spears, ends trimmed
- 12 large prawns, peeled, deveined
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- flaky sea salt
- lemon wedges, to serve
- For the Spiced Tartare Sauce
- 6 tbsp mayo
- 1 tsp finely chopped capers
- 2 tsp finely chopped cornichons/gherkins
- 1 tsp chopped fresh dill
- ½ lemon, zest and for squeezing
- a pinch of cayenne/paprika, according to taste (a tsp of rose harissa works well)