Fried Anchovies or other similar small fish like smelt etc.

Ingredients:

Fish
flour
salt
Olive Oil
Lemon

To fry fish:

I have evocative memories as a child of my mother frying anchovies, her favourite fish, which she first dipped into seasoned flour – they were golden and crisp at the edges and they were always accompanied by her favourite salad. Fried anchovies makes a simple but very tempting dish, but you need to follow a few basic rules to get it absolutely right.

First, of all remove head by pulling and the guts will also be removed as well. Wash, strain, add salt and coat with flour, which gives an extra crisp coating.

Olive oil gives the best degree of crispness. If, on the other hand, you'd like to get a buttery flavour, then use half oil and half butter (on its own, butter burns too easily and can spoil the flavour). The second rule is you must have the oil hot enough.

There should be enough to cover the pan and give a depth of about 2 cm - and the most vital point is that it must be really hot. Experienced cooks just put their hand above the frying pan and know when the heat is enough to put the fish in but for starters watch the oil as it's heating and you will see a shimmering haze that will cue you as to when to add the fish. If in doubt, add a small cube of bread, which should sizzle quite fiercely; if it doesn't, the oil is not hot enough. The idea is to seal the fish in the hot oil on both sides otherwise – it is only when the oil isn't hot enough that fried fish tastes oily and is soft.

You have to leave it for a while and just turn on the other side once. Place on absorbent kitchen paper to remove excess oil.

Kali orexi (Bon Appetite!)