Fritte miste serves as a fitting appetizer for any special occasion.  It is one of my favorite appetizers and always fun to have when it is made right in front of you at a table set up with a chef  preparing live…and then handed to you in a brown paper cone.

Here is the recipe as promised.  This is a rustic recipe and served in brown paper cones to absorb any oil since it is typically finger food when served at an outdoor event or party. If you don’t want to use brown paper cones, servve as illustrated here in a dish surrounded by lemon wedges..oh by the way fritte miste literally means-’mixed fry’ but it refers to the mixed kind of fish or fish and vegetables used for this.  You can use shrimp, squid, baccala, cod, any fish will do.

The ingredients are simple:
fish, flour (white or yellow), fresh lemon slices, olive oil, brown paper formed into cones.

Wash and clean 2 lbs of  fresh seafood including but not limited to shrimp, flounder, cod, squid, baccala, eel, anchovies, sardines.  Dry with paper towel thoroughly,

Place about 1 cup of flour in flat dish. Heat oil in saute pan. Dip fish pieces in flour. Fry till crispy and brown. Place on paper towels and then place in brown paper cones and serve each cone with a lemon wedge.

For more great recipes get your copy of the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at http://www.marialiberati.com

Ciao for now!
Maria

 fritte miste              San Silvestro 

Weddings in Italy..you can only think of one thing when you hear those words-’never ending food’ or endless buffet, and this was no exception… 

This past weekend I had the ’uber’ pleasure of attending the wedding of a prominent person from our little town here. But the wedding was held in one of the 99 churches of the city of L’Aquila. Imagine, the center  of this city that dates back to the 800’s contains 99 churches. The church we went to was San Silvestro, it was constructed in 1350 and has many frescoes that decorate the walls as well as contains many famous works of art. The wedding ceremony was a long one, as usual. But I just kept thinking about the wonderful 8 hour meal we were going to partake of  once the ceremony was over.

And the meal was a long one- but well worth the wait. The reception was at an agriturismo in L’Aquila called Casa Signorile and they produce eveything in house . The event began with a huge buffet outside that contained everything one could imagine from fresh parmigiano-reggiano cheese to smoked salmon to bruschetta, to fritte miste being made right before your eyes. For wines,paired perfectly were the Trebbiano D’Abruzzo  and Prosecco- to  overflowing.

The buffet seemed never ending and as we all thought the dessert was ready to be served, we were told to go inside and sit at our assigned tables for the dinner. Dinner? what..I thought we just ate dinner. But no that was our appetizer we were told. The dinner was a five course one:

*Fagottini di porcini mushrooms served with a vellutato sauce made with the saffro nproduced locally in the nearby town of Navelli

*Fettucini with melanzane and vongole

*Oven baked rombo (type of fish) with fresh steamed cozze (mussels)

*lemon sorbetto (to clean the palate)

*Porchetta (a typical pork dish made with a lot of spices)

*Oven Baked Potatoes

*Salad

All served with a locally produced heirloom wine-Pecorino

Then it was outside to the dessert buffet tables. Fresh fruits, exotic fruits, sliced watermelon, tiramisu, Italian cream cake, apple pies, creme caramel, panna cotta, meringue and the torte nuziale (wedding cake).

Espresso to finish..

Oh, I think I am losing count… it is not 5 courses but 10 and counting.

I am too full for any more food talk but I will be posting the recipe for the wonderful fritte miste I had at the wedding reception  in the next few days and may I say it was  Buonissimo!!! Stay tuned..