Oyster and beer batter fritters

Serves 4-6

• 200g flour
• 0.5 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 230g beer
• 2 tbsp chives
• 8 oysters
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 0 thick slices white bread
• 0 Oil
• 0 Lemon wedges

Step 1
So he decided to cut stale white bread into cubes and pour the juice from a can of oysters (which he ate) over them, then dip those into a fish-and-chips-style beer batter.

Step 2
Heat the oil to 180C/350F.

Step 3
Make the batter by sieving the flour, smoked paprika, salt, sugar and baking powder.

Step 4
Whisk in half the beer slowly, making sure there are no lumps.

Step 5
Whisk in the chives then the remaining beer.

Step 6
Open the oysters, put in a small blender with the oyster sauce and 3 tbsp cold water, and pulse to a smoothish puree.

Step 7
Lay the bread cubes in a wide bowl and drizzle the oyster puree over.

Step 8
Gently toss the bread to coat evenly – it will suck up the juice, so work quickly.

Step 9
Give the batter a gentle whisk, then add the bread, 6-8 chunks at a time, and gently toss to coat them evenly.

Step 10
Deep-fry in the oil until golden, shaking off excess batter to form what we called “crunchies”, and turning them a few times so they cook evenly.

Step 11
Put on to kitchen paper, sprinkle with salt, and keep them in a warm oven while you cook the rest.

Step 12
Eat while hot and still crunchy.