2023 Giro d’Italia - Stage 1: Fossacesia to Ortona
Welcome to my 2023 Culinary Ridealong Series. For those of you whom are new to the blog, this is my annual journey to Europe, via my kitchen! There are 3 major road races: Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, and the Vuelta España and I make a daily, stage-specific meal for each of these month-long races. Today’s stage is near Pescara, where my wife and I had lunch and then took a quick dip in the Adriatic on our way up from Puglia to Perugia, just about 2 years ago on our honeymoon.
Today's stage was a speedy time trial along the Adriatic Coast. I decided to follow suit and made a speedy, traditional fish dish: Fried Anchovies. However, I couldn’t find any fresh anchovies anywhere and opted for smelts. Smelts are a bit bigger and more mild, almost like a fried flounder in tiny form. Eating a plate of these lightly battered, lemon and sea salt kissed crispy fish immediately transports you to the seaside. Be sure to come back every day to see what else I have in store for you!
Fried Anchovies
Oil for frying
1 lb fresh anchovies or smelts
1 cup cake flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp freshly cracked pepper
Flaky sea salt
Lemon
Heat your oil to 365.
Meanwhile, rinse and drain the fish. Place them on paper towels and dab with more until mostly dry.
Add the flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, fine sea salt and black pepper in a large zip lock bag. Shake to combine.
Place half of the fish into the bag and shake until fully coated. Remove the fish by hand, placing in a colander. Shake off the excess flour.
Place the fish in the oil and fry for 4-6 minutes until golden and crispy. Remove to a rack-lined baking sheet to allow the oil to drip off. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and repeat with the remaining fish.
Place the cooled fish on a platter. Top with the second batch and season once more with flaky sea salt. Serve with lemon.
Note: anchovies will be whole, with the heads still on (and that is ok!). Smelts are bigger and should be cleaned and gutted at the time of your purchase.
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Copyright 2023, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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