Pijotas Fritas Gaditanas

Pijotas fritas gaditanas are Andaluzas, from the Cádiz fry: small hake or pescadilla, cleaned whole, salted, dusted in frying flour, and dropped into abundant hot olive oil. No egg. No batter. No breadcrumb coat. What makes them this dish is the little fish left itself, sometimes curled so the tail sits in its mouth, with a dry pale-gold crust and sweet white flesh inside.

The method that decides it is the flour and the heat. Dry the fish properly, flour it thinly, then shake it as if you mean it; loose flour burns and thick flour turns pasty. The oil must be very hot, 180C, so the coating sets at once before the fish can drink oil. Crowd the pan and you lower the heat. Then you don't have Cádiz, you have greasy fish.

No hace falta haber pisado Cádiz. If you can't find pijotas, buy small whiting or small hake sold legally and fresh, with clear eyes and a clean sea smell. Fillets work only as a compromise: cut them thick, flour them the same way, and fry them for less time, knowing you lose the curled shape and some sweetness from cooking on the bone.

Serve them the moment they come out, with salt and lemon on the side if your table wants it. My Margin beside this one says only: "fish dry, oil fierce." That's enough. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.