Smelt fish. Culinary interest
A small silverfish smelt fish lives in clean and cool European ponds.
Smelt is appreciated for its taste and nutritional value. The meat of this fish is very tender and moderately fat, rich in many useful trace elements, including especially valuable magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and fluorine. And professional chefs respect smelt for the abundance of wonderful dishes that can be prepared from it.
How to cook smelt? Culinary Tips
Smelt frozen or chilled in dry ice is the ideal basis for many delicious dishes. Thanks to the tender and fatty pulp, it is not difficult to cook smelt. This fish is cleaned very simply, its scales are easily removed. And if the smelt selected for frying contains caviar, then it is not customary to gut it: you do not need to remove the head and entrails. It is used to prepare fish soups, casseroles, deep-fried it to a crunch, baked on charcoal, fried in batter and breading. Due to its small size, smelt meat is fried very quickly.
Fish preparation
Smelt does not have any unpleasant odors characteristic of many species of fish. Therefore, it does not need any preliminary soaking (of course, if it is not a question of pickling). Before cooking smelt, just sort it out and wash it well. This is nothing complicated.
How to cook smelt for a simple dinner
Fried smelt is appreciated even by professional chefs. This is not at all surprising, because it is this method that allows you to reveal all the fish's virtues: to make the flesh fragrant and delicate, and the skin and fins - crispy. Such a fish can be garnished with fried potatoes, pea puree, rice or buckwheat porridge. This dish goes well with homemade pickles: cucumbers and tomatoes, sauerkraut, and, of course, pickled mushrooms.
How to cook smelt at a picnic
You can make a delicious fish not only at home. Smelt can be a great alternative to barbecue. There are several ways to process it outdoors: baking on skewers, skewers or a grill over coals, as well as baking in foil, immersing directly in coals. It is better to marinate a fish with onions beforehand. For this, kefir, yogurt, white wine or highly carbonated mineral water are suitable. As spices, you can use crushed pomegranate kernels, lemon slices, fresh rosemary, dill, bell pepper and all your favorite dry seasonings (cardamom, oregano, a mixture of peppers). Pickled small smelt quickly, literally in 4-5 hours.
Cooking fish in the oven - smelt in tomato sauce
Smelt can decorate not only the everyday table, but also become a festive dish. It is very tasty when baked. Bake best in sauce: mushroom, sour cream, or, for example, tomato. First, you need to prepare the sauce: beat with a blender 500 g of tomatoes canned in their own juice, add a little greens, salt and sugar, mix. Pour the mixture into the previously fried fish and put to bake until cooked in a refractory dish. Serve with any potato garnish, can be decorated with greens.