Fritto Misto with Market Vegetables

Start at the market. Walk slowly. Look for what is truly in season, heavy in the hand, alive with color. Artichokes with tight leaves. Squash blossoms still holding their morning shape. Fennel that smells like licorice before you cut it. Zucchini no bigger than your thumb. This is your fritto misto, and the produce decides what it will be.

The batter exists only to protect and barely contain. It should be so thin you see the vegetable through it, so light it shatters at first bite. Cold sparkling water is the secret. The bubbles create lift, and the chill keeps gluten from developing. Mix it badly on purpose. Lumps are fine. Smoothness is the enemy.

Every meal is a meaningful choice. When you fry vegetables from a farmer you trust, picked that morning, you taste the difference. The zucchini tastes like zucchini. The artichoke tastes like artichoke. Let things taste of what they are. That is the whole philosophy, right there on a warm plate dusted with salt.