Fried Kalettes with Pickled Carrots and Romaine Lettuce

These things are incredible! The center of the kalette stays firm and chewy while the outer leaves are glassy and crisp. The cornmeal really leans into the southern fried oyster vibes and the accompaniments only support this. It's like a po boy without the bun (though a sandwich would be a logical next step). We developed these to be a bar snack appropriate for a martini or bloody mary at a party. 

Source: Culinary Vegetable Institute at The Chef's Garden

Ingredients:

For the Fried Kalettes:

• 1 pack of Kalettes
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• ½ cup of flour divided
• 1 ½ cups cornmeal
• 1 tsp of seasoned salt or bbq rub
• 1 qt vegetable oil

 For the Pickled Carrot:

• 2 carrots cut into thin rounds.
• 1 cup water
• ¼ cup white or cider vinegar
• ⅛ cup sugar or honey
• 1tsp salt

Directions:

• Blanch the kalettes for a few seconds and transfer to an ice bath or cool water. 
• Transfer the kalettes to a bowl with ¼ cup of flour and toss to evenly coat. Add more flour if necessary but you really only want a thin coating of flour. 
• Mix the buttermilk and egg together in a bowl with a whisk. Add  ⅛ cup of water and whisk. Transfer the kalettes one at a time to evenly coat before finally transferring to the seasoned cornmeal. Remove from the bowl of seasoned cornmeal and onto a lined baking sheet. 
• Repeat until all kalettes are breaded. 
• Preheat the vegetable oil in a pot (2 qt or larger) to 300ºf. Gently transfer some of the kalettes to the oil and fry until golden brown and crispy.
• Transfer to a rack or a paper towel lined baking sheet.
• Repeat until all kalettes are fried.
• Season with salt and pepper. 

For the Pickled Carrot

• Combine all ingredients and mix to evenly distribute. Making sure to dissolve all sugar and salt.
• Transfer to a refrigerator until ready to use. (these get better with time. If you can, allow a few days for these to pickle)

• Transfer the fried kalettes to a plate.
• Tuck in the pickled carrots and raw romaine lettuce.
• Serve with mayo and an appropriately stirred martini.

Fried Kalettes with Pickled Carrots, Romaine Lettuce and Mayo

The Culinary Vegetable Institute

Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users

These things are incredible! The center of the kalette stays firm and chewy while the outer leaves are glassy and crisp. The cornmeal really leans into the southern fried oyster vibes and the accompaniments only support this. It's like a po boy without the bun (though a sandwich would be a logical next step). We developed these to be a bar snack appropriate for a martini or bloody mary at a party.

• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on Whatsapp

Ingredients

Fried Kalettes

• 1 pack of Kalettes
  

• 1/2 cup buttermilk

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup of flour, divided

• 1-1/2 cup cornmeal

• 1 tsp seasoned salt or bbq rub

• 1 qt vegetable oil

Pickled Carrots

• 2 carrots cut into thin rounds

• 1 cup water

• 1/4 cup white or cider vinegar

• 1/8 cup sugar or honey

• 1 tsp salt

View Cart (0) Checkout

Directions

Fried Kalettes

1. Blanch the kalettes for a few seconds and transfer to an ice bath or cool water.

2. Transfer the kalettes to a bowl with ¼ cup of flour and toss to evenly coat. Add more flour if necessary but you really only want a thin coating of flour.

3. Mix the buttermilk and egg together in a bowl with a whisk. Add ⅛ cup of water and whisk. Transfer the kalettes one at a time to evenly coat before finally transferring to the seasoned cornmeal. Remove from the bowl of seasoned cornmeal and onto a lined baking sheet.

4. Repeat until all kalettes are breaded.

5. Preheat the vegetable oil in a pot (2 qt or larger) to 300ºf. Gently transfer some of the kalettes to the oil and fry until golden brown and crispy.

6. Transfer to a rack or a paper towel lined baking sheet.

7. Repeat until all kalettes are fried.

8. Season with salt and pepper.

Pickled Carrots

1. Combine all ingredients and mix to evenly distribute. Making sure to dissolve all sugar and salt.

2. Transfer to a refrigerator until ready to use. (These get better with time. If you can, allow a few days for these to pickle).

Assemble

1. Transfer the fried kalettes to a plate.
   

2. Tuck in the pickled carrots and raw romaine hearts.

3. Serve with mayo and an appropriately stirred martini.