Sunday, May 29, 2011

Deep fried macaroni (the grown up version)


Food Critic Andrew and I were sitting down recently, enjoying a beautiful Saturday morning over crumpets and coffee. As is our tradition, we devour "The Saturday Age" and usually discuss the feature on page 3 of the "Life and Style"section, where the main gist of the story is a celebrity interview intertwined with a restaurant review.

Of course, one of the main topics of conversation is whether the food is actually worth the what you pay for it. So of course, when one of the dishes included some deep fried macaroni, I set about the not too difficult challenge of proving that deep fried macaroni isn't overly difficult, it also probably isn't worth the price of a restaurant meal. (Of course, I know that there are lots and lots of overhead that contribute to an expensive meal...but seriously? deep fried leftovers?)

So, a quick whiz around the internet, and I have this delightful recipe for your benefit. I am not sure whether I would make this again, only possibly as a novelty canapé or something or rather.
Of course, I did enjoy a couple of them in all their cheesy/carb-alicious goodness, but they are only a "quick make" if you have already made the macaroni and cheese earlier (which is not hugely popular in my household). As such, I will assume that the macaroni and cheese is already made, and cooled.


Deep Fried Macaroni cheese balls.

Ingredients

1 large mixing bowl of your favourite macaroni and cheese, cooled overnight
1 onion, cut finely (or, food processed for even smaller chunks)
cayenne pepper to taste

Flour (plain)
1 egg, beaten
Panko bread crumbs


Method

1. Heat a deep saucepan that is approximately 1/3 full with vegetable oil (or other oil suitable for deep frying) until a small cube of bread turns golden-brown within 10-20 seconds of you dropping it in the oil.
2. Mix the onion, macaroni, cayenne pepper in the bowl, until well combined.
3. Form small, uniform balls of your cooled macaroni and dredge in flour.
4. Dip the ball in the egg, and then finally into the panko. Roll around until well covered.
5. Gently lower the balls into the hot oil with a metal slotted spoon, and let them cook until they turn golden brown.
6. Remove from oil with slotted spoon, and place onto a paper towel on a plate to soak up any excess oil. Place into a slow oven (around 120 degrees Celsius) until all macaroni balls are cooked. Haste is important though! Serve as soon as possible, like with all deep fried foods.