If you're fresh anchovies are frozen, let them thaw out completely. This can be done fairly quickly by immersing them in tepid water. Drain them entirely.

Now take an anchovy and slit it horizontally down the belly. Cut off the head, then with your fingers, gently open the two sides of the fish up to expose little 'vein' (actually the viscera) and backbone.

Scrape out the vein, then with the help of your paring knife, very gingerly detach the backbone from the fish, slipping the knife under the bone to detach it, then using it to hold down the fillets while you lift the bone away from the fillets with your fingers, taking care to avoid separating the two fillets from each other. (If they do separate, it's no real problem, but it will be a bit less pretty.) Stop when you get to the tail. Cut the backbone off just below the tail, keeping the tail attached to the two fillets.

You can rinse the fillet off so it's perfectly clean if you like. Keep going until you've cleaned all your fillets.

Lay out the flour and seasoned egg in separate bowls and pour enough oil in a skillet to come up about 2cm (3/4 inch) up the sides. Heat the oil until it's quite hot but not yet smoking.

Now, using the tail as a 'handle', dredge each anchovy in the flour, then in the egg, then place it gently in the hot oil. Repeat with more fillets until the skillet is full, but not crowded, with fresh anchovies. Fry on both sides until nice and golden brown, adjusting the flame if you need to to maintain the oil at a hot but not smoking hot temperature. The oil should bubble vigorously around the edges of the fresh anchovies.

Once golden brown, remove the anchovies to a platter lined with paper towels or, even better, a baking rack, to dry off a bit.

Just as soon as you've fried all your anchovies, arrange them on a serving platter, season generously with salt, and serve them right away with lemon wedges on the side.