Pescaito Frito

Pescaito frito is a technique rather than a dish: small fish, anchovies, red mullet, whitebait, cuttlefish, squid and dogfish among them, dusted in a specific coarse chickpea-and-wheat flour, shaken clean, and dropped briefly into very hot olive oil so they crisp without absorbing it. Done properly the result is dry to the touch, not greasy. Cadiz and Malaga each claim the tradition and differ in detail; in Cadiz the freidurias sell by weight in a paper cone, cartucho, eaten walking or taken into a nearby bar to eat with a drink, an arrangement bars accept. Malaga's version centres on boquerones, anchovies fried joined at the tail in a fan shape, and espeto sardines grilled on canes over a beach fire.

What to look for

• The paper cone - fish sold by weight and eaten standing.
• The mixed fry - anchovies, mullet, squid and dogfish together.
• The chickpea flour - the specific coating used in Cadiz.
• The Malaga boquerones - anchovies fried joined in a fan.

When to go

Year-round; freidurias operate through every season, though summer evenings on the coast are when the tradition is most visible. Lunchtime and early evening are when the fish is freshest.

What to expect

Quality depends entirely on oil temperature and freshness, and a poor version is greasy and heavy. Fish is sold by weight, so ordering is by hundred grams rather than portion. Bones are present in most of the small fish.

Nearby

Cadiz, Malaga, Sanlucar and the coastal towns of both provinces all have long-established freidurias.