Pic of John Tovey's lightly curried, deep-fried celery strips

John Tovey's lightly curried, deep-fried celery strips

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John Tovey's lightly curried, deep-fried celery strips

Starter Serves 8 20 min
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

Prep time: 5 min
Cooking time: 15 min

  • Step 1

    Cut each stalk into 5cm pieces and then into 5mm thick strips. Soak in cold milk until you want to fry them.

  • 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.

  • 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.