Since Lent season is still ongoing, I’m looking for interesting ways to prepare more seafood. I’ve also had luck to score some mussels on sale and decided to fry them up. Admittedly, this did turn out to be a bit more work than what I’ve expected. However, the mussels were also very tasty, so the tradeoff was good.

If you happen to have an air fryer, the whole frying ordeal is going to be immensely easier and the final result way healthier.

INGREDIENTS:

(Yields 2 servings / 1.61 EUR per serving / 3.22 EUR for all)

250 grams cleaned frozen mussels, thawed (2.00 EUR)

For the batter:

1 egg (0.20 EUR)

Good pinch of salt (0.01 EUR)

Good pinch of freshly ground black pepper (0.02 EUR)

4 tbsp all-purpose flour (0.03 EUR)

1 tbsp corn starch (0.01 EUR)

2-3 tbsp cold water (–)

For prepping and serving:

2 cups neutral oil, for frying (0.67 EUR)

Good pinch of salt (0.01 EUR)

1 lemon, sliced into wedges (0.27 EUR)

METHOD:

Rinse the thawed mussels in a colander under cold water. Leave to drain, then gently pat dry with a kitchen towel. Prepare the batter by whisking together the egg, salt, pepper, flour and corn starch. Gradually add in water, a tablespoon at the time until the batter is around thicker pancake batter consistency.

Place a deep medium sized pot with oil on medium-high heat and allow the oil to warm up. You can test the oil temperature by adding a drop of batter – it should start sizzling immediately. Dunk the mussels into the batter, then carefully transfer to the oil, one at a time. I found that this was easiest to do with chopsticks. I also fried the mussels up in 3-4 smaller batches, so I don’t overcrowd the pot. Fry for about 5 minutes, until nicely golden-brown.

Using a slotted spoon transfer the fried mussels to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Immediately sprinkle with good amount of salt and serve right away with lemon wedges.

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Pošto smo još uvijek u korizmi, trudim se pronaći neke zanimljive recepte za morske plodove. Također, imala sam sreću pa sam naletjela na dagnje koje su bile na sniženju te sam ih odlučila ispržiti. Priznajem, na kraju je to ispalo više posla nego što sam očekivala, ali dagnje su bile stvarno ukusne, pa mislim da se trud isplatio.

Ako slučajno imate airfryer fritezu, cijeli postupak će biti puno jednostavniji, a konačno jelo i značajno zdravije.

SASTOJCI:

(Za 2 porcije / 11,98 kn po porciji / 23,97 za sve)

250 grama očišćenih smrznutih dagnji, odmrznutih (15,00 kn)

Za smjesu za prženje:

1 jaje (1,50 kn)

Dobar prstohvat soli (0,01 kn)

Dobar prstohvat svježe mljevenog crnog papra (0,15 kn)

4 žlice glatkog brašna (0,20 kn)

1 žlica kukuruznog škroba (0,10 kn)

2-3 žlice hladne vode (–)

Za pripremu i posluživanje:

2 šalice neutralnog ulja za prženje (5,00 kn)

Dobar prstohvat soli (0,01 kn)

1 limun, narezan na kriške (2,00 kn)

PRIPREMA:

Odmrznute dagnje isperite u cjediljci pod mlazom hladne vode. Ostavite da se dobro ocijede, pa ih onda lagano posušite papirnatim ručnikom. Smjesu pripremite tako da razmutite jaja, sol, papar, brašno i kukuruzni škrob. Postepeno dodajte vodu, jednu po jednu žlicu, dok ne dobijete konzistenciju gušće smjese za palačinke.

Duboki lonac sa uljem srednje veličine stavite na srednje jaku vatru i pustite da se ulje dobro ugrije. Temperaturu možete testirati tako da u ulje kapnete mrvicu smjese, koja bi odmah trebala zacvrčiti. Dagnje umačite u smjesu, pa jednu po jednu pažljivo spuštajte u ulje. Meni je to najlakše bilo za napraviti sa kineskim štapićima. Također, dagnje sam ispržila u 3-4 manje ture kako ih u isto vrijeme ne bi bilo previše u loncu. Pržite dagnje oko pet minuta, dok ne dobiju lijepu zlatno-smeđu boju.

Pržene dagnje ocijedite i stavite na tanjur obložen papirnatim ručnikom koji će upiti višak masnoće. Odmah dobro posolite i poslužite čim prije sa kriškama limuna.