Gonos (Fried Whitebait) is a traditional Ancient Roman recipe for a dish of herbed whitebait cooked in hot oil. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ancient Roman version of: Fried Whitebait (Gonos).
Use all anchovies for manure, except The Attic fish; I mean that useful seed Which the Ionians do call the foam; And take it fresh; just caught within the bays, The sacred bays of beautiful Phalerum. Good is it too, when by the sea-girt isle Of Rhodes you eat it, if it’s not imported. And if you wish to taste it in perfection, Boil nettles with it — nettles whose green leaves On both sides crown the stem; put these in the dish Around the fish, then fry them in one pan, And mix in fragrant herbs well steep’d in oil.
A disciple of Archestratus, Clearchus the Peripatetic adds that: “Because they want very little fire for the frying-pan, Archestratus recommends people to put them into a pan which is already hot, and to take them off as soon as they hiss. And they are done, and begin to hiss in a moment, like oil; on which account it is said, ‘Anchovy, look at the fire.”
Note: These are called 'nunnata' in Sicily, 'bianchetti' and 'rossetti' in Genoa, and whitebait in English (in Sicily, which has preserved much from Magna Graecia, not least in marine terminology, the tiny newly hatched fish are still called 'grommo', which means mucus.
Ingredients:
1kg whole whitebait
Olive oil (just the bare minimum needed for frying)
pinch of fresh Thyme leaves, finely chopped
pinch of fresh Marjoram, finely chopped
pinch of dried Oregano, crumbled
salt, to taste
Method:
Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan. Once the oil is hot, add the herbs and stir into the oil.
Now add the whitebait and as soon as the fish begin to sizzle, take off the heat immediately. Drain off any excess liquid.
Immediately turn the contents of the pan onto a warmed serving plate, sprinkle with salt and serve piping hot.
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