Visiting Italy?This is the original traditional recipe of the iconic Ligurian fried anchovies.
Ligurian fishermen, coming back home at night after an hard fishing day, often brought some anchovies for the family dinner.
Forget about opening them as a butterfly, soak in eggs and then coat with bread crumbs. Fishermen’s wives with a quick unique gesture removed head and entrails, dusted them with some flour and then fried in hot olive oil.
To increase the plaasure, sprinkle with salt, serve with lemon wedges and accompany with a fresh Ligurian white wine.
Fried anchovies
Ingredients
- 500 g (1 lb) fresh anchovies
- 125 g (1/2 cup) of flour
- 1 l (8 fl oz) peanut oil for frying
- Salt
- 1 lemon
Instructions
- Clean the anchovies under running water removing head and entrails. Leave the fishbone, it will prevent the fishes from opening in cooking.
- Let them drain well and pat with a dry cloth.
- Pour peanut oil into a pot with high edges and bring it to temperature (175-180°C – 350°F).
- While the oil gets hot, flour the anchovies: put the flour in a large bowl and dive into the fishes taking care to shake them gently to remove the exceeding flour.
- When the oil reaches the right temperature, cook the anchovies, a few at a time, for about 1-2 minutes or until they are evenly golden brown.
- Let them drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and garnish with lemon wedges before serving hot.
