French cuisine · Fish & Seafood

Petite Friture d'Éperlans

Small smelt tossed only in seasoned flour and deep-fried very hot until crisp, bones and all.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 800 g smelt (or small sardines)
• 150 g flour
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 l frying oil
• 2 lemons
• 1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley
• coarse sea salt
• salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Rinse the smelt in cold water, pat very thoroughly dry and leave unscaled — wet fish spatters in hot oil and won't turn crisp.
2. Mix the flour with paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper in a freezer bag, shake the fish in it in batches and firmly tap off the excess flour.
3. Heat the frying oil in a deep pot to 185 °C; a pinch of flour must rise and bubble instantly.
4. Fry the fish in small batches for 2–3 min until light golden brown and floating on the surface, stirring gently once so they don't stick together.
5. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle immediately with coarse sea salt so it sticks to the hot crust.
6. Coarsely chop the parsley, scatter over the fish and serve with lemon wedges on a platter — a chilled white wine goes well with this.