Gianchetti (also bianchetti, poutine in
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million[Provence
Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...]
) are the
whitebait
Whitebait is a collective term for the immature fry of fish, typically between long. Such young fish often travel together in schools along coasts, and move into estuaries and sometimes up rivers where they can be easily caught using fine-mes ...
of fish of the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
(
sardine
Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it com ...
s and
anchovies
An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water.
More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...
, etc.), caught with special nets in the early months of the year. The relatively low catch means that the prices at market are rather high, even in comparison to other whitebait. Since the 1990s frozen gianchetti have also been available.
A speciality of the
Ligurian cuisine and
Provençal cuisine, gianchetti are generally lightly boiled in salted water and served hot, dressed with oil and lemon juice; another classic approach is to make fritters of the fish together with an egg and flour batter; finally they may simply be dipped in flour and
deep fried
Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow frying used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Norm ...
. In Provence they are also used to make a traditional
soup
Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot – though it is sometimes served chilled – made by cooking or otherwise combining meat or vegetables with Stock (food), stock, milk, or water. According to ''The Oxford Compan ...
or
omelettes
An omelette (sometimes omelet in American English; see spelling differences) is a dish made from eggs (usually chicken eggs), fried with butter or oil in a frying pan. It is a common practice for an omelette to include fillings such as chiv ...
.
The gianchetti of a red colour (''ruscetti'', ''rossetti'') are tougher and scaly to the palate: they are largely used to flavour fish-based sauces.
Gallery
File:Le mani del pescatore.jpg, alt=,
File:Reti da pesca.jpg, alt=,
File:Gianchetti and poutine.jpg, alt=,
See also
*
Cuisine of Liguria
Ligurian cuisine consists of dishes from the culinary tradition of Liguria, a region of northwestern Italy, which makes use of ingredients linked both to local production (such as preboggion, a mixture of wild herbs) ...
*
Cuisine of Provence
The cooking of Provence is based around fresh, local produce including garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, fish, vegetables, fruit, and goat's cheeses. Meat and poultry also feature, but are generally of secondary importance.Friedman, p. 60
The cuisine o ...
References
{{reflist
Cuisine of Liguria
Cuisine of Provence
Fish dishes