Antonio Carluccio's courgette fries recipe

These delicious courgette fries make a nice change to oven chips - and they're a great way of getting the kids to eat more veg.

Whether you call it courgette or zucchini, and whether they're chips or fries, this simple dish is a really heavenly option. Crisp and crunchy, with more flavour than potato chips, it's a brilliant snack or an irresistible side dish to go with steak, pork chops, chicken or even burgers. In this recipe, Italian master chef Antonio Carluccio keeps things pretty simple with a flour and egg batter. You do need to deep fry these to get the lovely crispy finish.

Ingredients

• 600g baby courgettes
• olive oil, for deep-frying
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 eggs, beaten

Method

1. Top and tail the courgettes and cut them in half lengthways. Cut out the white centre and seeds, if there are any, (this part is too watery for frying), and slice the the remainder into batons. Cut these in half widthways so that you are left with matchsticks about 5cm long.
2. Heat the oil in a large, deep pan until slightly smoking.
3. Meanwhile, mix the flour and eggs together to make a light batter. Season with salt and pepper. Dip a handful of the courgette matchsticks into the batter, then plunge them into the hot oil. Deep fry in batches, separating them with a spoon, until they crisp, about 4–5 minutes. Drain well on kitchen paper.
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Top tip for making Antonio Carluccio's courgette fries

Antonio says: 'Courgettes are probably the most used vegetable in Italy, although they are not given the praise that they deserve. Though the courgette may be humble, it produces wonderful results. It can be eaten raw, fried in slices, baked or grilled whole, stuffed, included in both lasagne and parmigiani'

Can you deep fry with olive oil?

In this recipe, Antonio uses olive oil to deep fry the courgettes. Many cooks prefer not to fry with olive oil due to concerns about its stability at high temperatures, but extra virgin olive oil is, in fact, good for frying with and has a high smoke point. However, it is a more expensive frying option than vegetable oil, so use that if you prefer.

Should I remove the skin on courgettes?

No, there's no need to take the skin off courgettes, and in fact, it gives the courgette fries a nicer taste and texture if you leave it on. You can eat courgettes cooked or raw, with the skin on.

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• Courgette and pesto pasta
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