Fried fish (pescaíto frito)

Pescaíto frito is a dish of small fish coated in flour and deep-fried in olive oil, closely tied to the southern coast of Spain, especially Andalusia. Eaten fresh from the pan in beach bars and fried-fish shops, it has become one of the defining foods of Spanish coastal life.

History

The dish belongs to the wider Mediterranean tradition of fried fish, and the Romans were already eating fried fish in ancient Rome. Its roots also run through Sephardic Jewish cooking, where a fried fish was a traditional Sabbath dish among the Jews of Andalusia, Spain and Portugal in the 16th century, served cold after synagogue on Saturday mornings.

Travellers' accounts from the 18th century describe the dish in parts of Andalusia. Over time it spread along the Mediterranean coasts of France and Italy, to Greece, and across Latin America, where each country adapted it with local fish and accompaniments.

Culture

In Andalusia it is served hot and freshly fried, as an appetiser with beer or wine, or as a starter. It is often eaten with small picos bread rolls and regañás, a crisp flat bread flavoured with sesame. In Catalonia it is commonly accompanied by pa amb tomàquet and can be a main course at dinner.

Small fish such as anchovy, red mullet or pijota are the most prized, though larger fish like smoothhound shark, hake or mackerel are also cut up and fried. Squid, baby cuttlefish and prawns are also common in the mix.

In Latin America the term refers to fish seasoned with salt, pepper and lime, floured and fried. In Peru, bite-sized pieces are called chicharrón de pescado. In Montevideo, Uruguay, stalls on Calle Comercio serve fried fish portions and majugas, some of them open for more than a century.

Trivia