Walk through a summer market square in Finland, in Kuopio, Jyväskylä or Tampere, and you will smell them before you see the tent: muikku, a small silvery lake fish, tossed in rye flour and fried crisp in a great deal of butter. They are sold by the paper plate, with mashed potato or a dollop of garlic mayonnaise, and eaten with the fingers, heads, bones and all. They are often called Finland's fish and chips, which is fair, although these come from a lake rather than the sea.

Vendace is hard to find outside the Nordic countries, but smelt or whitebait fry up almost identically. The whole process takes about twenty minutes, which is roughly the length of a safety car period and far more rewarding.

The garlic mayonnaise

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (120 g) good quality mayonnaise
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill

The fried fish

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb (680 g) vendace or smelt
• 1/2 cup (50 g) rye flour
• 1/4 cup (30 g) all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white or black pepper
• 4 tablespoons (60 g) butter
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable or rapeseed oil
• 1 lemon

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