Julie Van Rosendaal's deep fried pub snacks

You don't need to visit your local watering hole for deep fried pub snacks.

In fact, you don't even need a deep fryer!

Julie Van Rosendaal stopped by the Calgary Eyeopener with her tips for making great pub snacks at home, just in time for this weekend's Super Bowl.

With the right batter, you can successfully deep fry just about anything. While these recipes are for onion rings and falafel, you can deep fry miniature chocolate bars and marshmallows if you have more of a sweet tooth. 

And if you don't have a home deep fryer, don't worry — you can achieve the same results by using vegetable or canola oil in a heavy, high-sided pot.

Beer-battered Onion Rings

Mellow purple onions or sweet onions are perfect for onion rings — this process is a bit messy, but absolutely worth it. Freshly cooked onion rings are great with a shower of salt and some mayonnaise spiked with garlic and lemon for dipping.

• 1-2 sweet or purple onions
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• coarse or flaky salt
• 3/4 cup beer or soda water
• Canola oil for cooking

Slice the onions crosswise about 1/4-inch thick, separating them into rings.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Whisk in the beer until smooth — it should have a texture somewhere between pancake batter and heavy cream.

Heat about an inch of oil in a heavy medium pot set over medium-high heat. When it's hot, but not smoking — a scrap of bread should sizzle when dipped in — dunk a few onion rings at a time in the batter to coat, then cook in the oil, turning with tongs as they turn golden. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and shower with coarse salt. Serve immediately. Serves 4-6.

Homemade Falafel

Homemade falafel is inexpensive and easy. The measurements are approximate, so you can adjust any to suit your taste.

• 1 19 oz (540 mL) can chickpeas, drained
• 1 small purple onion (or a chunk of one), chopped
• 2-4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/4-1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• pinch dried chili flakes
• 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Canola oil for frying

Put the chickpeas, onion, garlic, cilantro, cumin, salt and chili flakes in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined but still chunky, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Add the flour and baking powder and pulse until you have a soft mixture that you can roll into balls without sticking to your hands too much. You can make it as smooth as you want, but I like leaving a little texture.

Roll the dough into meatball-sized balls, and if you like, flatten each slightly, making a little patty. A flatter patty provides maximum surface area, which equals more crunch. They'll also cook more quickly. 

In a shallow pot or skillet, heat about a half an inch of canola or other mild vegetable oil until it's hot but not smoking. Test it with a bit of falafel mixture or a scrap of bread — the oil should bubble up around it. Cook the falafel for a few minutes per side, without crowding the pan,which will cool down the oil, until they're golden and crisp. You could get away with using just a drizzle of oil — if you do this, it's best to leave the falafel round, so that you can roll them around in the pan to brown all sides. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

Serve warm, with tzatziki or thick plain Greek yogurt spiked with lemon, garlic, tahini and salt. Makes about 20 falafel patties.

With files from Julie Van Rosendaal and the Calgary Eyeopener