I spent Easter 2007 in Spain near Puerto de Mazarron - the town has a small but excellent indoor market with several fruit and vegetable stalls, a couple of delicatessen vendors, a bakery and two fish counters.

On the first of these, I spotted some tiny translucent, wormy things that looked like small white fish. They were the only item on the counter with no identifying label - just the price: €12.60 per kilo - expensive, but a kilo of these things would be a large amount.

Anguilas

I asked about these on the Straight Dope Message Board and they were identified as Anguilas (Elvers - baby eels) - confirmed on returning to the market another day, when my fumbled enquiry was met with the reply "Son anguilas - baby fish".

So I asked for un poco (a small amount), paid a few Euros and walked away with a couple of handfuls of the things in a plastic bag.

At this point, not knowing how they should be properly served, I made a guess - mix them up with some smashed garlic and a little olive oil - after which, they looked like this:

If you look closely, you can see their tiny black eyes.

Anyway, then I dredged them in some flour and dropped them briefly into hot oil:

I fried them like that for just a minute or so (they are very slender and cooked quickly), then put them on some kitchen paper to drain.

Then I ate them

Then I ate them, of course. I tried some on their own, then I tried some stuffed inside a pitta bread, along with some slices of avocado.

Surprisingly, they taste nothing at all like chicken. The flavour (aside from the garlic, oil, etc.) was a sort of mild, sweet, shellfishy taste - a bit like squid, a bit like crayfish, but very subtle. The texture was like soft pasta throughout - there were no bones.

All in all, it was quite a pleasant experience, apart from all those sad little beady eyes staring at me from the plate.

So... Mi alimento tiene muchos ojos
- My food has many eyes.

What? You don't believe I ate them? OK, here's the photo:

PS: My wife ate them too (and enjoyed them), but - ha HA! - she can't prove it! (she was the one holding the camera).