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Tencas fritas
Fried tench with garlic
Tencas fritas: whole tench (or trout) fried crisp with garlic, as served at Malpartida de Cáceres
The cattle ponds of the dehesa around Malpartida de Cáceres and Los Barruecos have bred tench for centuries, and every spring the town holds a fiesta for the fish. Locals fry it whole in olive oil with plenty of garlic and eat it with their fingers, picking the sweet flesh off the bones, with a green salad and bread. Tench is hard to find outside Extremadura, so small trout make a good stand-in. Chef's tip: dry the fish thoroughly before flouring, or the coating goes gluey and the oil spits.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 4 small whole tench or troutabout 250 g each, scaled, gutted and cleaned
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 ⅞ oz plain flour
- 1 cup olive oil
- 6 cloves garlicsliced
- 1 lemon (optional)in wedges
- 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley (optional)chopped
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Rinse the 4 small whole tench or trout inside and out and pat completely dry with kitchen paper. Make two shallow cuts on each side and season inside and out with the 1 tsp salt.
5 minStep 3: Coat the fish in the 2 ⅞ oz plain flour, shaking off any excess.
2 minStep 4: Raise the heat to medium-high and fry the fish two at a time for 4–5 minutes a side, until the skin is crisp and golden and the flesh near the bone is opaque and flakes easily. A common mistake is crowding the pan: the oil cools and the fish turns greasy instead of crisp.
15 minStep 5: Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot, scattered with the fried garlic, 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley and 1 lemon wedges.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 34 g
- Carbs
- 15 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tencas fritas take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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