Boquerones Fritos Malagueños

Boquerones fritos are Malagueños, and Málaga knows exactly what to do with a small anchovy: clean it, salt it, dust it with flour, and fry it fast in very hot olive oil. Nothing more. This is pescaíto frito, fried little fish, at its plainest and best, eaten by the tail with a squeeze of lemon if you like it.

The method that decides the dish is dryness and heat. Wet fish makes paste under the flour, and lukewarm oil gives you grease. Pat the boquerones dry, flour them lightly, shake off more than you think you should, and fry them in small batches at 180 to 190°C. They need barely two minutes. The flesh stays sweet, the outside goes crisp, and the oil stays clean.

If you're far from Málaga, no hace falta haber pisado España. Use the smallest fresh anchovies you can find, or small sardines at a pinch, cleaned the same way. Sardines are oilier and need a little longer, so the result is heavier, good but not the same. My Margin beside this one says only: "hot oil, dry fish." Siempre sale, si lo sigues.