Make sure you cook the whitebait as near to serving as possible to keep them lovely and crisp.
Ingredients
- ½ cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 2 star anise
- ½ tsp whole cloves
- ½ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 medium free-range eggs, beaten
- 100g plain flour, for dusting
- Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
- 35-40 whitebait
- Aïoli and lemon wedges, to serve
Method
- 1. Toast the spices and pepper in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until fragrant. Remove, add the salt, and whizz in a spice grinder or grind using a pestle and mortar. Pass through a fine sieve into a shallow dish. Place the beaten eggs and flour in separate shallow dishes.
- 2. Fill a saucepan a third full with vegetable oil and heat to 180°C or until a small cube of bread turns golden brown within 1 minute. Dip the whitebait into the flour, then the egg mix, then into the spice mix. Carefully put the whitebait into the hot oil, and cook in batches for about 1-2 minutes, until browned. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Serve with some aïoli and some lemon wedges.
Nutritional info
Per serving: 461kcals, 36.3g fat (5.9 saturated), 15.8g protein, 19.6g carbs, 0.4g sugar, 0.3g salt
Wine Recommendation
A crisp, dry, young rosé is a refreshing, moreish choice. Chill a bottle from Chile or Spain.