Whitebait Fritters or Neonata or Nannata

Today I am presenting my all-Sicilian recipe for this seafood specialty.
This catch is a very rare specialty unfortunately.
Whitebait, also known as neonata or nannata, is the commercial name given to juvenile blue fish, caught in the Mediterranean Sea, while more rare are those of sand smelt and other species like the red seabream.

There is also a baked version of this recipe, click here to see it.

These I thought of for you:

Whitebait Fritters or Neonata or Nannata

Cost: Medium
Preparation time: 15 Minutes
Portions: 4
Cooking methods: Frying
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All Seasons

224.39 Kcal

calories per serving

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Energy 224.39 (Kcal)
Carbohydrates 0.26 (g) of which sugars 0.01 (g)
Proteins 18.74 (g)
Fat 16.69 (g) of which saturated 4.97 (g)of which unsaturated 9.63 (g)
Fibers 0.08 (g)
Sodium 688.50 (mg)

Indicative values for a portion of 150 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA^* and FoodData Central^** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.

^* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ^** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

Ingredients

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14 oz whitebait
3 eggs
1/3 cup Pecorino Romano cheese (grated)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
1 bunch chopped parsley
to taste salt
to taste pepper
to taste peanut oil

a look at health

Tools

What we need to do

1 Colander
1 Pan
1 Knife
1 Bowl
1 Paper towels
1 Sieve

Steps

To make

The first thing to do is to treat the catch:
When we buy the Whitebait, they come like this, as a mass.
Indeed, that’s exactly what they are, a mass of small fish caught with a net similar to a bridal veil.
Inside, you may find seaweed or other larger fish, or dirt.
So you need to place them in a large bowl full of water and gently pass them through a sieve, to eliminate all impurities, even several times.
When you are sure they are clean, drain them, then take a bowl and beat the eggs, along with the grated Pecorino Romano cheese, chopped parsley, and garlic, salt, and pepper according to your taste.
Add the whitebait and beat very gently until you obtain a homogeneous mixture.
Put plenty of peanut oil in a pan and heat it to the right temperature.
Take the mixture by spoonfuls and fry it for about 3 minutes, then turn the fritter and cook for another 3 minutes, or until well colored.
Place the fritters on a sheet of paper towels to absorb excess oil, then serve hot with some lemon juice, and a side dish, also great accompanied with lemon.