Cheddar Cheese

Ingredients

• ½ Pint of Pure Water
• 2 Ounces of Flour
• 1 Egg
• 1½ Ounces of Cheese
• ½ Ounce of Butter
• 1/8 Teaspoon each of Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice, Freshly Ground Sea Salt and freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Additional Finely Grated Cheese and Parsley with which to garnish the freshly fried Cheese Aigrettes once cooked and drained
• Oil or Fat (to cook with)

Note: You can adjust the quantities of salt, pepper and lemon juice to better suit your own taste preferences

Method

1. Separate the egg yoke from the egg white. Beat the egg white until it becomes very stiff. Finely grate the cheese. Keep all three ingredients separate but do cover and set aside for the time being.
2. Select a suitably sized saucepan, add in the water and the butter and gently stirring all the while boil until the butter has fully melted. Now gradually add in the flour, stirring all the while. Keep stirring until the mixture becomes nice and smooth.
3. Add the grated cheese, the egg yoke, the sea salt, the black pepper and the lemon juice to the flour mixture and stir until thoroughly combined
4. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg white. With the egg white folded in, allow the mixture to cool.
5. Add the cooking oil/fat to a deep fryer or very deep saucepan and heat until oil/fat becomes smoking hot. You are now ready to cook your Cheese Aigrettes. To achieve the best possible results do not overcrowd your fryer. We will therefore be frying our cheese aigrettes in batches.
6. Use a spoon to take out small spoonfuls of your Cheese Aigrettes mixture. Then immediately drop them into your fryer/deep saucepan and fry until they turn a lovely golden brown color.
7. Once cooked use a slotted spoon to take the Cheese Aigrettes out of the fryer and transfer to paper towel covered wire rack to drain for a few moments. Then transfer Cheese Aigrettes to a serving platter and sprinkle with cheese (parmesan is great) and garnish with parsley.
8. In the meantime, repeat the above portioning and frying process for the next batch of Cheese Aigrettes. We will continue repeating this process until no mixture remains uncooked.

Serving

These Cheese Aigrettes are best when served very hot along with an array of sauces and dips so you may find it appropriate to deliver the Cheese Aigrettes to the hungry hordes as and when each batch has finished draining.

If you intend to cook batches of Cheese Aigrettes periodically then in between cooking cover the Cheese Aigrettes mixture with plastic cling wrap and place in the refrigerator until required.

Another great idea for using this Cheese Aigrettes batter recipe is to cook the Cheese Aigrettes at the table Fondue style.

Enjoy!