The vegetable garden is now prolific, despite all the rain. I have lived in the south for over 30 years. Everything is better fried, or so southerners assert. And I have to agree.
Tonight, an entire meal of fried vegetables. Fried squash, fried green tomatoes, fried okra, fried dill pickle, and, the piece de resistance, fried eggplant.
And, before one gets on their high horse regarding how bad this meal is healthwise, the vegetables are fried in avocado oil and the sum total of oil ingested is much, much less than one would have with an oil and vinegar dressing on a salad.
I have spent some time searching on the internet to verify my claim. Have not been able to verify it. Seems to me that Cook’s illustrated did an experiment based on their cooking technique that showed that little oil is absorbed by the vegetables, much of which remained that can then be drained away by paper towels. They measured the amount of oil in the skillet before frying and after frying. The amount of oil absorbed was not significant. I could be wrong.
I was ruined by fried food. In 1964/65, I lived in Waco, TX. Fried donuts were the thing for breakfast. Probably why I wound up being a cop and couldn’t see the tips of my shoes until I bent over.
Well, actually no, if done right. Ergo, the deliciousness of tempura. Mine were not done with tempura, this time. Panko bread crumbs. Still researching how much fat is absorbed if cooked correctly versus an oil/vinegar vinaigrette on a salad. Of course, the latter depends upon how much one puts on the salad, as noted previously. I suspect the information is not readily available, although it should be.
And Bob, you are correct. Salt and pepper. My wife, however, requires remoulade sauce, homemade including the mayonnaise, as a condiment. Want to talk about fat calories… Want to talk about delicious…
Next time I intend on seasoning the Panko bread crumbs with the KFC seasoning recipe.