Fritto (Mixed fried meats)
- Preparation time: 30 minutes.
- Cooking time: 20 minutes.
- 800g meat
- Plain flour.
- 2 eggs.
- Breadcrumbs.
- Extra-virgin olive oil.
- Salt.
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For a really delicious meal you will need a good assortment of various meats such as chicken, turkey, rabbit, lamb and calf's brains.
The chicken should be fried skinless and the brains should be plunged in boiling water for a few minutes and the membrane then carefully removed. Cut all the meats into small pieces and toss in the flour. Dip each piece into the beaten, salted eggs.
The ribs of lamb and the turkey breast should be dipped first in the egg and then in the breadcrumbs. Drop the pieces into a generous amount of hot oil and fry gently on all sides for ten minutes. Increase the heat until they turn golden brown. Drain all the meats on kitchen paper and salt well before serving. Garnish with lemon quarters.
Fresh, mixed green salad goes well with this fry. In the past, lard or animal fat, both of which are much heavier than olive oil, were used for frying. Our ancestors must have been made of sterner stuff than us however, for Bartolomeo Sacchi, after admitting that the
fritto was "a dish that is difficult to digest", went on to praise it, claiming that "it stifles bile and is good for the heart, liver and kidneys".