Herbed Mushroom Fritters with Dijon Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Fine Diced Spanish or Vidalia Onion
- 3 cups Diced Fresh wild mushrooms (A variety works best
- 1 tsp Chopped Fresh Garlic
- Olive oil
- 1/4 cup Sherry Wine
- 1 tsp Chopped Fresh Thyme
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 Cup Milk
- 1/2 Stick Unsalted Butter
- 1 Cup AP Flour
- 4 Large Eggs
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- Oil For Frying
- For the Vinaigrette:
- 1/4 cup Dijon Mustard
- 1/4 cup Honey
- 1/2 Cup Sherry Vinegar
- 1/4 cup Lemon juice
- 1 tsp Chopped Shallot
- 1 cup Olive oil
- 1/2 tsp Chopped Thyme
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- make the batter: This is a pate Choux recipe. Heat milk, butter, and salt in a heavy pot. Bring to a boil, then taper off the heat to medium. When the butter is fully melted, stir in the flour and mix with a wooden spoon. Keep stirring to prevent the mix from sticking to the bottom of the pan. You want to cook until it begins to look like a dough. Continue to cook off moisture for another minute or so. Then transfer the batter to a mixer. Turn the mixer on at low speed and add the eggs in one at a time, increase the speed between addition of each egg to incorporate them well. When all the eggs are added and the dough is finished, set it aside. It can even be made the day before or earlier in the day and refrigerated.
- Make the Vinaigrette. Put all ingredients except oil in a blender. Turn on at a lower speed and turn it up to high speed. Drizzle in the oil until the dressing emulsifies. Taste the dressing and adjust seasoning if necessary. Set aside for service.
- Heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. saute onion and garlic, then fold in mushrooms. Cook all until soft. Then add Sherry. Cook down until the liquid becomes a glaze. Then fold in the remaining ingredients. Adjust seasoning as needed. Cool the mushroom mixture, then fold the Pate a choux paste into it.
- Heat at least a inch of neutral oil in a pot or fryer at 350 degrees. Scoop the fritter batter into the oil. Let it rise to the top. Turn as needed to keep the color and cooking consistent. The batter will puff up. You want a golden brown color. Adjust your heat to get them to cook through, but not get too dark. Serve hot with a drizzle of vinaigrette.
Notes
These Fritters use a pate a choux for a base. That is a batter that is usually associated with profriteroles, cream puffs, and eclairs. This is a savory version. Add sugar if you want to make desserts. When mixing, it is better to fold the batter into the mushrooms than the other way around. That way you will have a better ratio of filling to dough. Then, if you have any dough leftover, you can make those cream puffs.
Start by doing one fritter to test the heat of the oil, the density of mushroom to dough ratio, and the seasoning. This way, you can correct things before you are committed to a full batch.
This recipe is for mushroom fritters. But, you can use the same batter with other ingredients. Try shrimp, lobster, scallops, or other seafood if you like. Or you can do other vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes, sweet potato, or a mix of vegetables. You could even add sugar and fruit like apples, pears, or berries and make a tasty dessert fritter. Experiment. Enjoy.