I love the Latin name for the European sprat!
Yesterday at the farmer’s market, the fishmongers showed up after an extended absence. But they only had sprats – and lots of them! Only 2 pounds a kilo or a tenner for 6 kilos. I purchased a kilo, dusted about two thirds of them in flour and shallow fried them. The rest I froze.
They were delicious! We ate them with our fingers – nibbling away at the fillet on one side, crunching through the crispy tails, and then nibbling away at the other side, carefully leaving the bones and the bitter guts. A squeeze of lemon, a bowlful of cavolo nero, and a baguette…and a meal was made.
Of course, now I’m a little tired of sprats. I think I’m going to try grilling the ones in the freezer, as Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall suggests…but um…later.
Tamarind and Thyme 
Mon, 28 Jan, 2008 at 00:12
that looks delicious! Are they like anchovies? Or sardines?
Mon, 28 Jan, 2008 at 01:00
ooh they look like a fish we call “wakasagi”. looks great!
Mon, 28 Jan, 2008 at 07:00
Mmm. We used to get those almost everyday at the market (we had them fry it for us) for a good month when I was younger. Then I guess we got sick of them because I haven’t had them ever since. But now I kind of miss them. =]
Mon, 28 Jan, 2008 at 09:15
These look like what they used to eat in the Low Countries … they’d deep-fry them, and eat them whole. When they couldn’t catch any fish, they’d cut out fish-shaped pieces of potato, instead.
Thus were born …. chips!
Mon, 28 Jan, 2008 at 10:19
Oh yum, I love crispy little whole fish!
Mon, 28 Jan, 2008 at 18:45
c(h)ristine: They are somewhere in between whitebait and sardines. Sprats are an oily fish (my kitchen stank of fish for all of Sunday) and their guts are terrible to eat. Hugh fearnley-Whittingstall suggests cutting out the guts beforehand but my fishmonger showed that it’s quite easy to eat around them after frying. They even had a frying pan at the farmer’s market and were giving out fried samples!
Kat: Oh! Are wakasagi those little grilled fish that are eaten whole and that look so lovely and crispy?!
mywoodenrobot: I like the idea that you can get them ready fried. We had to open the windows for all of Sunday morning to air the flat and it was cold out!
travelrat: 😀 Love the story…but is there any truth to it?
tfp: Yes! These were a little more difficult to eat than whitebait but were still very tasty.
Mon, 28 Jan, 2008 at 20:35
>> Love the story…but is there any truth to it?<<
They claim so in Belgium … and say the Americans call them ‘French fries’ because the Doughboys in WWI assumed the French-speaking soldiers who fed them when they first arrived WERE French, when, in actual fact, they were Belgian.
Tue, 29 Jan, 2008 at 03:58
Oh I know. Fish tastes so good but I could definitely go without the smell while we’re cooking it. When my parents remodeled the house, they put the old stove outside in the bbq space for the times when my mom and grandma cook fish (which is almost everyday. lol).
Wed, 30 Jan, 2008 at 01:07
yes yes!
Thu, 31 Jan, 2008 at 19:07
Looks really delicious. Where about is the farmer’s market?
Fri, 1 Feb, 2008 at 23:16
mycookinghut: This was at the Acton farmer’s market (see http://www.lfm.org.uk for details on other markets too). However, according to the newsletter, it’s unlikely that they’ll be around this weekend due to the recent storms.
Sat, 2 Feb, 2008 at 13:40
Su-Lin,
Thanks for the info! I am sure the website address is gonna be useful. Keep up the good work of your blog! Check out mine if you want 🙂
http://www.mycookinghut.com
Wed, 27 May, 2009 at 08:04
[…] Sprattus Sprattus – I have good memories of that time I fried up so many tasty little sprats, thus stinking up our flat for a good three days! […]