Homemade tartare sauce beats the bought stuff anytime and makes a great accompaniment to deep-fried battered whitebait.
1 medium free-range egg
3 pinches sea salt
2 pinches finely ground black pepper
½ garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 tsp Dijon mustard
175ml/6fl oz rapeseed oil
squeeze lemon juice
1½ tsp chopped fresh parsley
1 heaped tbsp capers, drained and rinsed
8 baby gherkins
600g/1lb 5oz fresh whitebait
200g/7oz plain flour
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp sea salt, plus extra for dusting after cooked
vegetable oil, for frying
lemon wedges, for serving
For the sauce, in a food processor, blend together the egg, salt, pepper, garlic and mustard. With the motor running, gradually trickle in the oil to emulsify.
Add the remaining ingredients and pulse together until they have incorporated and are chopped evenly. Taste, add salt if necessary, and set aside in a small pot.
For the whitebait, preheat a deep-fat fryer to 190C/375F according to manufacturer’s instructions.
In a large bowl, using your fingertips, toss together the whitebait, flour and seasonings until evenly coated.
In small batches shake the fish in a sieve to remove any excess flour.
Spread the fish onto a baking tray.
Fry the fish in small batches for 2½ minutes, or until golden-brown and crisp.
Drain on kitchen paper, season with a little salt and serve with lemon wedges and the sauce.
Type the ingredients you want to use, then click Go. For better results you can use quotation marks around phrases (e.g. "chicken breast"). Alternatively you can search by chef, programme, cuisine, diet, or dish (e.g. Lasagne).
See more whitebait recipes
Hot smoked salmon, beetroot salad and horseradish crème fraîche
See more Raymond Blanc recipes
BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
