Fritto Misto all'Emiliana

Ingredients

• Meats and offal
• 4 lamb cutlets, trimmed
• 300 g veal or lamb brain, soaked 1 hour in cold water with a splash of vinegar, membrane removed
• 300 g veal sweetbreads, soaked 1 hour in cold water with a splash of vinegar, cleaned and sliced
• 250 g calf's liver, sliced thin
• 400 g chicken pieces, small joints or breast strips
• 80 g mortadella, cut into thick morsels
• Vegetables
• 2 courgettes (zucchini), sliced into batons or rounds
• 4 artichoke hearts, trimmed, choke removed, sliced
• 300 g cauliflower, broken into small florets, blanched until just tender
• Sweet elements
• 2 apples, peeled, cored, sliced into rings
• 8 amaretti biscuits, whole or halved
• For the crema fritta
• 500 ml whole milk
• 100 g caster sugar
• 60 g plain flour, sifted
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or lemon zest
• For the light batter
• 200 g plain flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 200 ml beer or sparkling water, cold
• 1 splash Marsala or grappa, optional, for aroma
• For the egg-and-breadcrumb coating
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 150 g plain flour, for dredging
• 200 g fine dried breadcrumbs
• For frying
• 3–4 litres strutto (lard), or lard blended with butter, or neutral oil, rendered fresh if using lard; commercially rendered lard is not recommended
• to taste fine salt, for seasoning immediately upon draining

Method

1. 1
   Make the crema fritta the day before or several hours ahead. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale, then incorporate the flour. Heat the milk with the vanilla or lemon zest until steaming; pour it gradually into the yolk mixture, return to the pan, and stir over moderate heat until the custard is very thick and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Pour into a shallow, lightly oiled tray to a depth of approximately 2 cm. Allow to cool completely, then refrigerate until fully set and firm enough to cut cleanly — the surface will be matte and the cream will hold its shape when pressed.
2. 2
   Soak the brain and sweetbreads in cold water with a splash of vinegar for 1 hour. Drain, remove any membrane from the brain, and slice both into pieces of even thickness. Pat all meats and offal dry. Blanch the cauliflower florets until just tender but still holding their shape. Prepare the artichoke hearts, courgette, apple rings, and mortadella morsels. Cut the crema fritta into diamonds of approximately 4 cm. Arrange all prepared elements on trays, grouped by coating type and cooking time, so that nothing need be fetched once frying begins.
3. 3
   Prepare the light batter by combining the flour, beaten eggs, and cold beer or sparkling water — with the optional splash of Marsala or grappa — into a smooth, thin batter. It should coat a finger lightly and run off in a thin sheet. Set the egg-and-breadcrumb line: flour, beaten egg, and breadcrumbs in separate shallow dishes.
4. 4
   Heat the frying fat in a large, deep, heavy pan to 170–180°C. This is the axis on which the entire dish turns: too low and the coating absorbs fat and turns sodden; too high and the crust burns before the interior cooks through. Maintain this range throughout — do not overcrowd the pan, as each addition of cold food drops the temperature sharply. Work in small batches and allow the oil to return to temperature between each batch.
5. 5
   Fry in sequence, longest-cooking items first. Begin with the lamb cutlets and chicken pieces: coat in egg and breadcrumbs and fry until deeply golden on both sides and cooked through — the coating will be firm and richly coloured, and the juices, if pressed, will run clear. Drain on a wire rack without stacking; season immediately with fine salt. Hold in a warm oven while proceeding.
6. 6
   Fry the liver, sweetbreads, and brain next, using the egg-and-breadcrumb coating for meats and a light batter for the more delicate brain and sweetbreads if preferred. These require a shorter time and benefit from slightly lower heat within the permitted range; the coating should be pale gold rather than deep amber. Drain, season, and hold. The mortadella morsels need only moments — fry until the coating sets and colours.
7. 7
   Pass the vegetables — artichoke hearts, cauliflower florets, courgette batons — through the light batter and fry in batches until the batter is crisp and golden and the vegetables are tender to a skewer. The batter must blister slightly at the edges; a flat, pale coat indicates the temperature has fallen. Drain and season at once.
8. 8
   Last of all, fry the sweet elements: apple rings in light batter, amaretti (if battering them; they may also be left plain), and the crema fritta diamonds coated in egg and breadcrumbs. The crema fritta is done when the crust is uniformly golden and crisp and the interior, pressed very gently, yields with the slight give of a set but molten cream. Do not hold these — they go directly to the platter.
9. 9
   Assemble every element on a single large platter without sorting sweet from savoury — the interplay of the two is the defining character of the dish. Serve the platter immediately. Fritto misto waits for no one.