FRIED ONION RINGS

It’s best to make these at the beginning of the onion season in late spring because onions are sweeter at that time. If you make onion rings in cooler months, you might like to soak them in buttermilk or milk for 30 minutes to tame the strong onion flavour. Serve onion rings as a side dish with a good burger or enjoy as a treat on their own. Fried onion rings have that satisfying crunch factor by the bucket load, and they are not bad washed down with a Fortitude Brewing Company golden ale.

Ingredients

2–3 brown onions, peeled and cut into 1 cm thick discs widthwise extra chickpea flour

300 ml grapeseed oil mayonnaise lime cheeks sea salt

CHICKPEA BATTER

100 g chickpea flour (besan flour)

75 g rice flour

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground chilli

½ teaspoon bicarb

½ teaspoon sea salt

250 ml ice-cold water

4–6 small ice cubes

Method

To make the chickpea batter, place the flour, spice, bicarb and salt in a mixing bowl, and whisk in the water and ice cubes to make a smooth batter. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based skillet to 170°C. Break the onion discs into rings and coat with flour. Dip the rings in the batter and shake off the excess. Drop 4–5 rings into the oil at a time. Don’t overload the fryer. Fry until golden and crispy, for about 3 minutes. Drain on absorbent paper then serve with mayonnaise, lime cheeks and a sprinkle of sea salt.