"You'll have to cook them" I declared, having no idea how to deal with this multitude of small silvery fish.
He dusted them with seasoned flour, quickly pan-fried them, and we ate them for lunch with bread and butter, and much laughter.
We have often spoken of that day - particularity in those conversations where people say "What is the strangest gift you have ever been given?" but not eaten sprats again. Until last week - I was in Ferndown, and there was a fish van parked in the car park. I looked at the pescatorial produce on his table - all in trays of ice - and said "What are those ones?" "Sprats!" he said "£1.50 a pound" I considered this for a moment and asked "How many would I get for that? and would that feed two people?" He assured me they would, and measured out some fish into his scale pan, declaring "That weighs a pound" "I'll take them, please" and I fished out some change from my purse.
"I've slung a few extras in, and a bit of ice to keep them chilled" he said "And I'm here every Thursday" I discovered that Dorset is one of the best places to get fresh sprats, as the shoals swim here just off the Jurassic Coast.
Sometimes all you need is just a simple meal of loaves and fishes - however could I have forgotten that?
I love that story!! How funny you've never eaten them since! It's good you've found the fish man. He sounds like a person who would also let you bring your own container too which is always great for waste reduction. I'm intrigued...how do you eat them? Do you eat the whole of the fish or do you have to pick bones out? I don't think I've tried Sprats!
ReplyDeleteYes I will try and remember my box next time
DeleteI love fish of all kinds, but hate fish bones, so the idea of eating whole fish, even small ones, has never appealed....especially as you're eating all the guts etc as well! Can you taste the bones, or even tell they're in there?
ReplyDeletePrepare them by slitting along the belly and rinsing out the innards. After cooking, grab the tail firmly and pull. The tail comes away along with the backbone. Eat the rest. Lots of recipes on the net... But sprats are best eaten alone, or with your nearest and dearest - not with nervous strangers, or people you wish to impress!
DeleteAre they similar to Whitebait? We used to eat them in France and loved them, like you, with a bit of lemon over them.
ReplyDeleteYes very like whitebait!
DeleteWhen I was growing up, they used to skewer several sprats onto short lengths of coconut ekels (the rib in the center of each palm fronds) and deep fry them. They were cooked as a curry, too, but deep fried was a bit of a treat. :)
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of putting them on a skewer. Not sure I fancy them in a curry
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