Low-Carb Greek Marithes Tiganites (Fried Smelts)

Serves 6, your time = 5mins, cooking time = 3 mins.

One serving is 36.2g of protein, 2.1g of carbohydrates and 1g of fiber so 1.1g net carbs

This is a great carb free starter or snack that takes about 5 minutes to cook.

We lived just south of Athens in a seaside town called Glyfada. There were lots of tavernas selling lots of fish, I remember these little fried fish well; I remember eating lots of them. They're amazingly easy to cook, a bit crunchy, and the flour coating soaks up the lemon perfectly.


I found smelt at my local Whole Foods but any big supermarket fish counter or fishmonger (do they still exist?) should have them. According to the recopies I found online picarel will work just as well.

If the fish are fresh and longer than 2 inches you will need to clean them, make a slit down the belly and squeeze out the stomach and intestines then descale with a sharp knife... or buy a pack of pre-cleaned frozen fish like I did; a lot less Icky :-) and easy to keep handy for next time you want a quick low-carb snack.

I substituted traditional flour for Almond Meal from Bob's Red Mill so this is almost carb free!

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of smelt (about 40 fish)
• 1/2 cup of almond meal
• 2-3 teaspoons of lemon juice

Wash the fish and roll them in the flower. Heat olive oil in a pan and fry them, they don’t need much, just until the flower browns, no more than a few minutes. Move them onto a paper towel to get the excess oil off, squeeze the lemon over them and dig in.