We used to serve these onion rings with a purée of salt cod, but it struck me that, served on their own with tartare sauce, they would make a decent snack or, even better, a starter served with a simple green salad.

The batter is the star of the show. It would work brilliantly for deep-fried fish, too. If you can find smoked paprika, use that instead of plain, as it tastes delicious in this recipe.

Serves 2-3 as a starter

For the onion rings

½ tsp fresh yeast
20ml soda water
30g flour, sieved, plus extra for dusting
30g potato flour (or cornflour), sieved
½ tsp paprika
1 stalk thyme leaves, chopped
Salt, a generous pinch
½ tsp sesame seeds (or more to taste)
½ tsp olive oil
1 egg white
Vegetable oil, for deep-fat frying
1 onion, cut into 1cm rings

For the tartare sauce

30g gherkins, diced
1 hard-boiled egg, the white finely diced
30g capers, chopped
20 tarragon leaves
1 small bunch of herbs (chives, chervil and parsley)
Mayonnaise, ideally home-made, to bind
1-2 tbsp double cream, lightly whipped

In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in the soda water. Add the flour, potato flour, paprika and thyme leaves, then whisk together. Add the salt, sesame seeds and olive oil, then stir. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg white until it forms soft peaks, then gently fold into the batter. When mixed, it should be the consistency of pancake batter.

In a deep-fat fryer, heat the vegetable oil to 180C. Dust the onion rings with flour and coat in the batter. Fry in the oil for about 3 minutes until brown. Drain on a piece of kitchen towel and season with salt.

For the tartare sauce, place the gherkins, egg white and capers in a bowl. Pass the egg yolk through a fine sieve into the bowl. Chop all the herbs, add to the bowl with the mayonnaise and mix. Finally, add the cream, stir, season and serve with the rings.