Whitebait

Crisp-fried little fish, eaten with French Fries and a good green salad . . . one of the few really good British dishes.

This is a real delicacy, not always available -at the fish market—but if you happen to be near water, and fresh “shiners” can be had from the fishing bait store, you’ve got whitebait!

3 pounds of whitebait
Seasoned flour—1 cup or more, plus 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, 1 tsp minced chervil or fresh parsley, ½ tsp paprika

Heat the fish-frying deep fat kettle.

Rinse the whitebait (or shiners) thoroughly; drain any excess water, and toss them in a paper bag filled with the seasoned flour. Place the floured whitebait in a frying basket, immerse in hot fat for 2 minutes, drain, garnish with lemon and fresh parsley and serve with plenty of tartar sauce.

Whitebait should be crisp and well-drained, and it’s ac­ceptable to eat them in your fingers—holding each fish by its little tail and dunking in the tartar sauce.

Filed under Gourmet recipes, Seafood recipes.
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