How an American Fries Sand Smelt in the Venetian Lagoon

Name: Fried Sand Smelt, Burano-Fisherman Style
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 2 lbs. Sand smelt or whitebait (preferably fresh but frozen and thawed works, too); 2 to 3 cups finely ground Italian flour (or all-purpose flour substitute); 40 oz. light vegetable oil (or the lightest frying oil available to you); salt

This recipe for Fried Sand Smelt comes from a remarkable American woman who adopted the Venetian Lagoon and learned how to fish its waters.

By Andrew Cotto and Allison Zurfluh

9:00 AM EST on March 5, 2025

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I met Allison Zurfluh in the summer of 2014 when I was teaching a travel writing course at John Cabot University in Rome. Allison would come down from Venice, where she was working in journalism, to hang out with the American ex-pats who had adopted me for the summer.

When Allison took on the management of Isola Santa Cristina, one of the largest of the 70 some islands in the Venetian lagoon, she included me on a press tour of American and European journalists, which I wrote about here for Conde Nast Traveler.

A highlight of the trip to Isola Santa Cristina was a visit to the private island by a famous Burano seafood restaurateur accompanied by local fisherman who brought fresh catch, requisite ingredients and equipment for a Venetian fish fry. It was clear, at that time, that Allison enjoyed tremendous rapport with the locals.

Allison Zurfluh in her boat on the waters of the Venetian Lagoon.

Over the subsequent years, Allison abandoned her work in journalism, travel and hospitality in favor of life on Burano and the waters of the lagoon. She dedicated her time to painting, in watercolor and oil, portraits of her beloved surroundings. Allison, an ardent environmentalist, also co-founded the Barena Association with a mission to "develop projects that encourage non-tourism-oriented repopulation and remove big waste from the protected wetlands of the northern lagoon." Most interestingly, Allison also immersed herself in the lives of the aforementioned fisherman, acquiring her own skiff and skills required for the ancient trade.

Allison wrote poetically about a typical day on the water with a legendary fisherman here.

The recipe for the fried Sand Smelt they caught that day is below.

Fried Sand Smelt, Burano-Fisherman Style

Recipe by Allison Zurfluh

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Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Ingredients

2 lbs. 2 Sand smelt or whitebait (preferably fresh but frozen and thawed works, too)
2 to 3 cups 2 to 3 finely ground Italian flour (or all-purpose flour substitute)
40 oz. 40 light vegetable oil (or the lightest frying oil available to you)
salt

Directions

Rinse fish and use paper towels to pat dry.
Coat fish on all sides by rolling gently in flour and lightly tapping to remove excess flour.
Heat a heavy based pot with oil over medium high heat until it sizzles nicely when one fish is dropped in.
Carefully sprinkle a handful of floured fish into the oil, keeping them separate with a fork as they fry.
When golden brown, scoop them out and lay them on paper towels, then transfer them to a plate lined with fresh paper and sprinkle with salt.
Enjoy immediately with Prosecco, either while standing impatiently at the counter and burning your tongue, or sitting on the doorstep watching the world go by.