Beer-Battered Pumpkin with Dipping Sauce

By sandy_h

From Southern Living October 2015

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle cold light beer (such as Corona Light)
• 1/2 (3-pound) sugar pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
• 15 large fresh sage leaves
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup hot sauce (such as Tabasco)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 28mins
Cooking time 40mins

Preparation

Step 1

Pour oil to a depth of 1½ inches in a Dutch oven; heat over medium-high heat to 350.

Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and 1 tablespoon salt in a large bowl; whisk in beer. Dip pumpkin wedges in batter, allowing excess batter to drip off. (Pumpkin should be very lightly coated.)

Gently lower pumpkin into hot oil, using tongs. Fry pumpkin, in 3 batches, 3 to 4 minutes or until tender inside and light brown outside, turning once. Place fried pumpkin on a wire rack in a jelly-roll pan; season with salt. Repeat procedure with sage leaves, frying 1 minute on each side.

Place peeled garlic clove on cutting board; smash garlic, using flat side of knife, to make a paste. Whisk together garlic, yogurt, next 3 ingredients, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Serve yogurt mixture with fried pumpkin and sage leaves.