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Five-spice dusted whitebait

Name: Five-spice dusted whitebait
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Greek recipes
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

Published: 31 Oct 08
Updated: 18 Mar 24

This crispy whitebait recipe is the perfect starter to serve at your next dinner party.

Easy
November 2008

Test kitchen approved

Serves 4
Ready in 30 minutes

This crispy whitebait recipe is the perfect starter to serve at your next dinner party.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 461kcals
Fat: 36.3g (5.9 saturated)
Protein: 15.8g
Carbohydrates: 19.6g (0.4g sugar)
Salt: 0.3g

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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

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Method

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.
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.