In the early eighties I worked as chef tournant at La Tulipe, a three-star temple of French gastronomy in New York’s Greenwich Village. One of our best-loved—and most unlikely—appetizers was fried zucchini. I know it sounds déclassé: fried zucchini at a three-star restaurant? But Chef Sally Darr took this typical Italian dish and transformed it according to her own refined and unerring taste. She started with a recipe that was simple and delicious, then had the finished product delivered to the table in a beautiful little woven basket. The key to the flavor was the batter: equal parts beer and flour, period. This batter has since become my all-time favorite. It creates the crispiest crust, which is, after all, the point of deep frying.

This is a great dish for entertaining because you can throw it together so quickly and/or prepare some of it ahead. The zucchini can be cut and the mayonnaise mixed the day before, and then all you have to do is prepare the batter and heat the oil. Don’t forget to season the fried zucchini the moment you pull it out of the oil. The salt will stick better when the zucchini is piping hot.