And the winner is…deep fried foods! “Fritto Misto” 2016 edition

As for most women, also for me keeping on an healthy diet is a mixed blessing. And like many other people, I’ve always thought that avoiding deep-fried foods is just the right thing to do, no matter what, if you want to cut down calories and to be protected against diseases caused by poor diet.

“In love, the winner is the one who…deep-fries!”

In the historic center of Ascoli Piceno, south of Le Marche, a popular event dedicated to frying takes place every year since 2004 and is called “Fritto Misto” (whose name actually refers to a traditional Italian recipe with an assortment of different seafood as well as meat or vegetables all battered and fried).

The central Square (Piazza del Popolo) in the old center of the city of Ascoli Piceno

I’ve been invited to this upcoming event by my girlfriend Carla. The street food fair  is starting tomorrow and will be on over the next two weekends (from April 22, until May 1). After talking to her, I immediately looked up online to read more info about the event. This is actually a great opportunity to get to learn and also to taste different deep-fried dishes from the Italian and international culinary tradition, as well.

Starting from the classic Italian “fritto misto”…

…to the savory chinese spring rolls…

…as well as the delicious “Apfelkiachl”, apple fritters from the German tradition!

Renowned chefs will welcome visitors in the Wine and Street Food section……preparing delicious dishes from the local tradition, while experimenting new recipe, as well. A fantastic occasion to taste many different gastronomic specialties and amazing local ingredients.

Deep fried anchovies: taste delicious!

The beautiful pictures of golden brown deep-fried foods I found online, literally teased my appetite.

Breaded tiger shrimps from the Adriatic Sea cutlets…it goes without saying how special they are!

So, I started making further research  to see if and how you can enjoy deep-fried foods. Finding out that I despised this tasty way of cooking for a lifetime without a true reason … well, honestly I felt a bit silly. The clichés and bad information often make us worry unnecessarily.

I was totally unaware that frying does even have the ability to stimulate the liver and to speed up the metabolism while reducing the ability of food to release blood sugar. There are just have a few tricks that is worth to follow carefully in order to deep-frying  healthier way.

Deep-frying can be an healthy way of cooking if made in a correct way

First of all, use a high quality extra virgin olive oil and do not use it more than one time. The recommended temperature depends on foods and ranges from 130°C/250F up to 180°C/350F.

It’s also very important to avoid to deep-fry long, in order to prevent the development of acrylamide, a carcinogenic chemical that develops sometimes during high temperatures cooking.

So…we can finally say “yes” to deep-fried foods!

The delicious ‘gnocco fritto di Modena’, an Italian deep-fried dough

Now I can’t wait to taste the “gnocco fritto from Modena” (a savoury fried  dough), as well as the tasty japanese tempura, along with the classic “olive all’ascolana” (or stuffed olives): all delicious foods that I will find at the ‘Fritto Misto’!

And what about you? Would you like to join me?

For more information and details please visit the official website: here