Vidalia Onion Fritters

Epicurious : September 2008

The French term amuse bouche (which means "amuse the mouth") describes tiny appetizers that are served with drinks to awaken the palate. One such complimentary amuse bouche that we serve out Chanterelle clients as they sip their aperitifs and look over the menu is these little fritters, which come with a slightly exotic Tamarind Dipping Sauce. The restaurant staff likes them, too: After a long, late shift, when we often have snacks before we clean up and go home, we can't resist indulging in the fritters, although we usually dip them in hot sauce since there's rarely any Tamarind Dipping Sauce left in the kitchen.

Sweet Vidalia onions are harvested in the spring and are best at that time, when they're freshest. They can be found the rest of the year for as long as the supply lasts. If you can't find Vidalia's, try another sweet onion like Maui (Hawaii) or Walla Walla (Washington). At other times of year you could use Spanish onions as a substitute.

Yield: Makes enough for a crowd (35-40 fritters)

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, or more if needed

2 teaspoons baking powder

Coarse (kosher) salt, to taste

2 to 2 1/2 cups milk

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce or chili-garlic sauce (sambal oelek)

2 large Vidalia onions, sliced lengthwise (top to bottom)

Canola or other vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Preparation

1. Place 1 3/4 cups flour, the baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to mix.

2. Place 2 cups of the milk, the eggs, vinegar, and hot sauce in another bowl and whisk until blended, then pour into the flour mixture and whisk until just blended; do not over mix. Stir in the sliced onions and let the batter rest for 30 minutes. It should be slightly thicker than heavy cream. If it isn't, sprinkle in a little more flour. If it's too thick, add a little more milk. The batter should look somewhat free-form, not doughy.

3. Preheat the oven to its lowest setting.

4. Pour vegetable oil to a depth of 4 inches into a large, heavy saucepan and heat to 375F on a deep-fry thermometer.

Drop the onion fritter batter into the hot oil by the tablespoonful, a few at a time, and fry, turning once, until the fritters are golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes in all. The fritters will have an irregular, spiderlike look, with a few loose pieces of onion escaping here and there. Check a fritter by breaking it open to see if the center Is cooked; it it still seems unset, cook 1 minute more. Drain on paper towels. Place the fritters in the oven to keep warm while you finish frying them all. Serve on a doily-lined platter or in a lined woven basket accompanied by the dipping sauce in one or more bowls.