Neapolitan C’uoppo
Neapolitan C’uoppo
Yield: 4
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 12 MinTotal time: 27 Min
Crisp, golden, and full of southern Italian spirit, this Neapolitan c’uoppo is a joyful mix of lightly battered seafood and vegetables served hot and fresh from the fryer. Tender prawns, calamari, fish, and bocconcini are joined by zucchini, eggplant, and delicate blossoms for a beautiful balance of flavor and texture. Served in paper cones with lemon wedges, it captures the essence of Naples street food, simple, vibrant, and made to share.
Ingredients
For the mix:
For the batter:
For frying:
Instructions
- To make the batter, whisk the flour, salt, and cold sparkling water together in a bowl until you have a smooth, loose consistency — not too thick, more like single cream and then add salt and pepper.
- Grab your sage leaves and start snipping the zucchini blossoms and remove the stem inside the flower. Chop the eggplant into little sticks
- Cut thin lemon slices and place bocconcini onto a plate on top of a paper towel.
- Heat the oil in a deep, heavy-based pan to 170–180°C. You’ll want enough oil so the pieces can float and fry evenly.
- Dip each item of eggplant, zucchini blossoms, zucchini sticks, sage squid, fish, prawns, bocconcini and lemon slices into the batter, letting any excess drip off, then carefully lower into the hot oil. Fry in small batches so the oil stays hot and the pieces crisp up properly. Each piece will take about 2–3 minutes, depending on size. Turn once during frying so they’re golden and crisp all over.
- Transfer to paper towels to drain, and sprinkle with salt while still hot.
- Pile the fried mix into small paper cones or serve on a large platter lined with parchment. Serve immediately.
