In Greece, fried whitebait, ‘μαρίδες‘ (pronounced mah-REE-thess), is a popular fish dish (along with all the other fish dishes) and will often be served as a starter. Of course, the portions are so large that one could be forgiven for thinking that the starter is actually the main meal.
You will need (for 4 portions):
- 1/2 kilo of medium-sized whitebait
- 1/2 cup of flour
- Salt, pepper and lemon
- Oil for frying
What to do:
- Wash the whitebait without gutting them and leave to stand for a bit.
- Put a generous amount of oil into a deep frying pan.
- Coat the whitebait with flour, shaking them to remove any surplus flour, then place them in the hot oil to fry. The oil MUST be at boiling point.
- When the fish is brown it is ready to serve.
Serve with freshly milled pepper and garnished with slices of lemon. And ouzo of course.
Kali Orexi!
HL=huge like… sooo yummy! call me next time, please! 🙂 P.S. I always have Greek sheep and goat feta cheese in my fridge and we have it with my special “polenta”, hard eggs and cream… 🙂
Author
🙂
I’m not into fish or seafood in general, but fried whitebait with lots of freshly squeezed lemon, a Greek salad, and a glass of cold beer are the epitome of a Greek summer lunch by the sea. And the weather is set on reminding us Greeks that the summer will take months to come!
Author
I agree! I’m not big on fish either but it can still be enjoyed in the right setting with a real Greek salad!