Get Premium access to all the latest content online
Subscribe and view full print editions online... Subscribe
Devilled whitebait with tartare sauce and mint yoghurt
Serves 4 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- sunflower oil, for deep-frying
- 125ml whole milk
- 125g plain flour
- 1 1⁄2tsp cayenne pepper, plus extra for dusting
- 500g whitebait
For the mint yoghurt
- 250g full-fat yoghurt
- handful mint leaves
- 1⁄2tsp sea salt flakes
For the tartare sauce
- 150g mayonnaise
- 2tbsp capers, drained and chopped
- 2 haimisha cucumbers or large gherkins, drained and chopped
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- squeeze lemon juice
- 3tbsp chopped fresh parsley
You will need
- cook's digital thermometer
Method
To make the mint yoghurt, strain the yoghurt through a fine sieve for 4 hours, or overnight. Pound the mint with salt until it forms a fine purée and add to the yoghurt. Chill until needed.
To prepare the tartare sauce, mix all the ingredients together and chill until needed.
Heat the oil in a large wok, large high-sided pan or deep-fat fryer to a temperature of 190C.
Put the milk in a wide shallow dish. Put the flour into a paper bag and add the cayenne pepper and season with sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper. Put the fish into the milk, then drain, a few at time, dropping them into the paper bag a batch at a time and shaking to coat evenly in the flour mixture, taking care that they don’t stick together.
Add a batch of whitebait to the hot oil and fry for around 2 minutes, until crisp and golden brown. Transfer to an oven tray lined with kitchen paper and put in a low oven while the other batches are fried. Sprinkle with extra cayenne to serve along with the mint yoghurt and tartare sauce.
Advertisement