Ingredients
- 1 cup (125 g/4 oz) self-raising flour
- 1/4 cup (30 g/1 oz) cornflour
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 8 raw large prawns
- 8 scallops
- 12 fresh sardines
- 500 g (1 lb) skinless white fish fillets (eg. perch, snapper, ling, John dory), cut into short strips
- 1 squid hood, cut into rings
- plain flour, for coating
- oil, for deep-frying
- tartare sauce, for serving
- lemon wedges, for serving
Method
1. Sift the flour and cornflour, with some salt and pepper, into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Combine the tablespoon of oil with 1 cup (250 ml/8 fl oz) water and gradually whisk into the flour to make a smooth lump- free batter.
2. Peel the prawns and gently pull out the dark vein from each prawn back, starting at the head end. Slice or pull off any vein, membrane or hard white muscle from the scallops.
3. To prepare the sardines, split them open down the belly, remove the gut, then clean with salted water. Cut off the head. Place skin-side-up on a work surface, flatten with the palm of your hand, then turn over and pull out the backbone with your fingers and cut at the tail with scissors.
4. Dry the prepared seafood with paper towels, then dip in flour and shake off the excess.
5. Fill a deep heavy-based pan one third full of oil and heat to 180°C (350°F), or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 15 seconds. Coat a few pieces of seafood at a time with batter and deep-fry each batch for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon, drain on crumpled paper towels and keep warm. Serve with tartare sauce and lemon wedges.
