52 Weeks of Fresh Breakfast Ideas – Week 9 – Smelt. A Blast From the Past

I’m taking the bull by the horns so to speak. I haven’t been getting along with breakfast for some time and I aim to rework that this year. Join me in my quest to find 52 Fresh Breakfast Ideas that don’t leave me feeling heavy or my family still hungry. We may revisit dishes you already know or find some new favorites but my goal for 2014 is a new appreciation for breakfast.

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When I was little my mother would often make us smelt for breakfast. She would fry up the little fish covered in seasoned flour and we would feast. My husband remembers her serving him some when he first started coming around. We’ve moved to a different city since then and haven’t seen smelt in the stores in this area. Until now.

Smelt are a small fish found in the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts. The fish are high in Omega 3’s and quite tasty.

My mother spotted the fresh smelt for sale in our local market and quickly snapped up a pound for herself. Then she came to find me to alert me to the treat of my childhood.

I bought a few pounds and brought them home to treat my family. Our daughter has never tasted smelt and she’s always game for a new food. She did question eating fish for breakfast but that did not stop her from digging in.

To prepare the fish I cleaned them out and there were requests to remove the heads although you can eat them. I then lightly floured them in some seasoned flour (just salt, garlic, dried parsley) and then fried them in a little olive oil.

They cook up quickly so they were ready in no time. It was six per person although hubby could have eaten more.

My daughter loved them and in fact has been requesting them since.

So YES! We truly do have a new Fresh Breakfast Idea.

Did you know you can purchase [simpleazon-link asin=”B004UINJMY” locale=”us”]Wild Caught I.Q.F Cleaned Lake Smelts[/simpleazon-link] on Amazon? Not sure if I would but interesting to know.