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Recipes with ice-cold sparkling water

6 recipes that use ice-cold sparkling water, with photos, step-by-step instructions and cook times. The quickest, Wisconsin fried cheese curds, takes 30 minutes. It is most often cooked with plain flour, cornflour and egg.

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Peixinhos da horta

Order a round of petiscos in an old Lisbon tasca and a plate of these often lands first: flat green beans in a thin, crackly batter, eaten with the fingers alongside a cold drink. The name means 'little fish from the garden', because on meatless church days the beans stood in for fried sardines. Portuguese missionaries are often credited with carrying the idea of batter-fried food to Japan in the 1500s, where it may have grown into tempura. Serve them hot, with lemon wedges and a pinch of flaky salt. Chef's tip: dry the blanched beans completely on a towel; any water left on them stops the batter sticking and makes the oil spit.

40 minPortugueseSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bakaliaros skordalia

On 25 March, Greek Independence Day and the Annunciation, the Lenten fast is relaxed for fish, and families from Nafplio to Patras sit down to golden fritters of salt cod with a sharp, garlicky potato skordalia and a beetroot salad. Salt cod is soaked for a day or two to draw out the salt, then dipped in a light sparkling-water batter and fried until puffed and crackly. Common mistake: not soaking long enough — taste a flake; it should be pleasantly seasoned, not salty. Chef's tip: make the skordalia while the potatoes are hot, and pound or mash by hand; a blender turns it to glue.

75 minGreekFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Wisconsin fried cheese curds

Fried cheese curds are what Wisconsin eats at supper clubs, ballparks and the State Fair in West Allis every August: fresh, squeaky cheddar curds dipped in a light batter and fried until the cheese just starts to melt and stretch. Many bars use a beer batter; this one uses sparkling water for the same lightness without alcohol. Serve with ranch dressing or marinara. Fresh curds are traditionally made with animal rennet, so look for curds or a young cheddar labelled vegetarian. Chef's tip: fry straight from the fridge; cold curds stay intact while the batter crisps.

30 minAmericanSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Castroville fried artichokes

Castroville, near Monterey on California's central coast, grows most of America's artichokes and calls itself the artichoke centre of the world. Roadside stands and the annual artichoke festival sell them crisp-fried, the tender hearts dipped in a light batter and served with lemon and garlic mayonnaise. Small 'baby' artichokes are best, as they have almost no choke. Chef's tip: drop each trimmed artichoke straight into lemon water; cut artichokes turn brown within minutes.

45 minAmericanSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Maki acevichado

Lima's Nikkei sushi bars invented the acevichado and it has become the roll every Peruvian orders: prawn tempura and avocado rolled in rice, topped with thin slices of fish and drenched in a creamy, lime-sharp sauce built from leche de tigre, ají amarillo and mayonnaise. Crisp, warm, cold and tangy in one bite, it is party food and Friday-night takeaway alike. For a safer topping, use sashimi-grade fish frozen at −20 °C for 24 hours first, keep it cold and eat the rolls at once; you can also sear the slices with a blowtorch or use cooked prawns instead. Even so, the raw-fish topping is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. Overfilling is the usual mistake: the roll won't close and the rice splits. Chef's tip: use a pasteurised-egg mayonnaise and wet your hands with vinegared water so the rice doesn't stick.

90 minPeruvianFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Vegetable tempura

Tempura (天ぷら) became a Tokyo street food in the Edo period, when stalls fried it to order by the city's riverbanks. The secret to the thin, lacy coating is an ice-cold, lumpy batter mixed at the last second and vegetables fried in small batches. Sweet potato, aubergine, pepper, shiitake and green beans all work well. Serve straight from the pan with a light dipping sauce and grated daikon. Chef's tip: keep everything cold. Use ice-cold water, mix the batter only seconds before frying, leave it lumpy, and stand the bowl in a larger bowl of ice. Cold batter hitting hot oil is what makes the lacy, crackly shell that Tokyo tempura masters prize.

35 minJapaneseSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Goes well with ice-cold sparkling water