Fried fish with tartare sauce

A delectable dish of tiny fried fish, called goujons – crunchy and mouthwatering – especially with homemade tartare sauce. Level of difficulty: Easy Special equipment: Deep-fryer

file:9280_fried-whitebait.jpg

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

Ingredients

For the sauce

1 medium egg

3 pinches sea salt

2 pinches finely ground black pepper

 ½ garlic clove, crushed

7 g Dijon mustard

175 ml rapeseed oil

squeeze of lemon juice, plus wedges to serve

10 g parsley

20 g capers, rinsed

8 baby gherkins

For the goujons

vegetable oil, to deep-fry

600 g fresh whitebait

200 g plain flour

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp sea salt, plus extra to serve

Instructions

1. To make sauce, blend egg, sea salt, pepper, garlic and mustard in a food processor. With motor running, add oil in a thin steady stream, until creamy. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until incorporated and evenly chopped. Season to taste.

 

2. To make whitebait, add oil to deep-fryer and heat to 190°C. Place whitebait, flour, cayenne pepper and sea salt in a large bowl, and use your fingertips to toss together until evenly coated. In small batches, shake whitebait in a sieve to remove any excess flour. Spread onto a baking tray.

3. Fry whitebait in small batches for 2 minutes 30 seconds, until golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towel, season with extra salt and serve with lemon wedges and sauce.

SBS cook’s notes

This recipe has been reproduced with minor SBS recipe style changes. | Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20°C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55–60 g, unless specified.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.