Fried Small Prawns & Baby Fish

Fried Small Prawns & Baby Fish

Maridas are little fish, a bit like large whitebait and are deep-fried as a meze, along with school prawns in this recipe for Fried small prawns & baby fish. Mikra garídia kai psaría tiganíta in Greek, they are enjoyed as meze all over Greece, often accompanied by ouzo. They were a surprise gift when Blair and I ordered ouzo on the boat on the Corinth Canal.

Serves 4 as part of a meze
Preparation time: 2 minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes

Ingredients:

250g small uncooked prawns (shrimp)
200g whitebait or other small fish
Plain flour, for dusting
Extra virgin olive oil, for frying

Method:

1. Pour oil into a heavy, medium saucepan to a depth of about 4cm and place over medium high heat.
2. Place flour in a small plastic bag and season it well with salt and pepper. Add prawns and fish, in batches if necessary, twisting the top of the bag to close and shaking until they are coated with the seasoned flour.
3. Test oil with a wooden implement or tip of a prawn to see if bubbles appear. Cook prawns and fish, shaking them first to remove excess flour, for a minute or so, or until prawns are pink and fish opaque and both are crisp. Cook them in separate batches if needed, reheat the oil between batches. Drain well on kitchen paper.
4. Serve immediately.

Lyndey’s Note: If prawns are small enough both can be eaten whole, leaving the shells and heads on. If you prefer, you can remove the heads but please leave the shells and tails on – they are deliciously crisp when deep fried.

Recipe from Lyndey & Blair’s Taste of Greece

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