Wednesday 4 September 2024

BOUQUERONES FRITOS -FRIED FRESH ANCHOVY

Bouqueronos fritos are popular tapas in Spain; it is best served with beer but we are sticking to white wine. I was guided by the basic recipe of Julia at Happy Foods Tube.. 



DEBONING THE FILLETS

I watched my fishmonger deboned and cleaned the anchovies; the gut came out when the head was pulled off. He then opened the fish like a butterfly and took off the bone by sliding his finger through, leaving the tail intact. 



I washed and cleaned the anchovies thoroughly, rinsed and drained. I laid each on a flat tray , sprinkled with a bit of cooking wine and put it in the freezer for two days to kill the bacteria. 


PREPARATION BEFORE FRYING 

From the freezer, I defrost the anchovies by running them through tepid water, strained and dried with paper towel. 


FRYING THE FILLETS 

I dredged the fillets with flour and little salt and pepper. In an skillet about 2/3 deep of olive oil, I fried each carefully so they don’t break. I did this in batches. 


Once the fritos were done I took them out to drain on a rack to air for a while to attain crispness.


PLATING THE BOUQUERONES FRITOS 

Excited to plate! 

As shown in the photo above, I placed a moderate amount of the fritos on a breakfast plate with a sprig of parsley and lemon wedges. I sprinkled chopped parsley for garnish. This was served along with the dipping sauce I prepared. 

Neopolitans call it “frijenno magnanno”, meaning “fry and eat”. I fried these while my guests were still on their first course so I could serve them as soon as they were done. 


DIPPING SAUCE RECIPE

I mixed 2 tbsps of chopped onions

2 tbsps mayo

1 tbsp ketchup 

1 tbsp mustard

Salt and pepper to taste. Then mixed thoroughly


Looks like the fritos was a hit! 

My sister, Annie said she didn’t see any frito left when she put away the plates. I was not able to see if they liked the fritos since I was busy serving the next course, the pasta in garlic-anchovy sauce with parmesan. 








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