John Tovey's lightly curried, deep-fried celery strips
These spicy, salty, crunchy morsels make an excellent and unusual accompaniment to drinks. They're also good with a main of roast game. Only fill your pan half-full with oil to prevent any upsplash.
Ingredients
- 400-450g celery stalks
- milk for soaking
- 75g plain flour
- 5 tsp curry powder
- oil for deep-frying, e.g sunflower
- salt
Method
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Step 1
Cut each stalk into 5cm pieces and then into 5mm thick strips. Soak in cold milk until you want to fry them.
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Step 2
Mix the flour and curry powder and spread out on a baking tray or put into a roomy plastic bag. Drain the celery strips in a sieve, then tip into the flour mixture, mixing to coat evenly. Tip back into the sieve to shake off excess flour.
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Step 3
Preheat a pan of oil to 180°C. Fry the strips in the oil for about 4 minutes in 3-4 batches, using the handle of a wooden spoon to stop them clogging together. Drain briefly on kitchen paper and serve immediately, sprinkled with salt.
