Anchovies: Tell Us About How You Use Them !

[opinionatedchef]

Aside from caesar dressing, vitello tonnato, and pizza, i use anchovies primarily in 2 dishes:

** anchovy butter, to which i am hopelessly addicted, and
** mushed into an italian marsala tomato sauce which is the braise and sauce for chicken or veal involtini filled w/ smoked mozzarella.

how about you? thanks much.

[momnivore]

I literally just typed and posted a similar question a minute after you! So far I've used it in tuna puttanesca and for a pork marinade with garlic, olive oil, red wine and rosemary.

[opinionatedchef]

what a brilliant moniker you have! just brilliant! and that pork idea , and the lamb coating one above- great ideas. thnx.

[hazelhurst]

I like to soak them in cold water awhile (to de-salinate a little bit), dry them and dredge them in a fritter batter or beer batter, deep fry them, dust with a little paprika and serve hot with a cold martini

[opinionatedchef]

you might like adding a fresh sage leaf under that anchovy!

[hazelhurst]

I'll try it: thanks.

[howlin]

out of the can and into my mouth.tumm tum

[chefathome]

- bagna cauda
- anchovy butter
- melted into many savoury sauces
- tapenade

[4Snisl]

I can't remember where I picked up this tip, but you can take mashed anchovy or anchovy paste, smear it (sparingly) on a steak, and cook as usual for a more complex flavor.

[opinionatedchef]

hmmm, that's NEAT!

[patricium]

I like them with cream cheese on a bagel - either little pieces of fillet scattered on top, or some anchovy paste mixed into the cheese. Or applied to focaccia before baking, making sure it's pressed down into olive-oil filled indentations. My partner doesn't like them, so I don't really use them in main dishes unless it's pizza, where I can keep my portion isolated.

[GretchenS]

Along with garlic and red pepper flakes when sauteeing greens or broccoli or cauliflower in olive oil. In classic tapenade, either on crackers as an app or on swordfish. I nibble them too. By the way, it pretty much changed my life when I switched to the ones in glass jars instead of in cans. Great topic!

[opinionatedchef]

ah HA! you might just have changed some other lives here! i know not of these- regular anchovies in a jar, not the white ones? found in regular groceries? or specialty stores? brands? .

and that greens idea, i will follow! thnx much.

[GretchenS]

Yes, regular ones. Whole Foods has them at nosebleed prices but Russo's (I know you are Boston-area) has them at great prices. They are on either the middle or lowest shelf under the produce in the middle aisle, left hand side heading away from the door, roughly opposite where the meat and eggs are. They usually have both plain and with red pepper flakes. I just opened my last jar last night, time to head over there!

[opinionatedchef]

i'm right behind ya, gretchen! thanks much!

[CCSPRINGS]

Almost anything that needs salt. When I saute veggies for pasta I will add the anchovies and the oil to the skillet. When I make a Thai coconut curry soup I use them in place of 'fish sauce' which is of dubious origin in my eyes. Anchovies were one of the seven fishes in my Christmas Eve fish soup this year. I love anchovies and sometimes nibble a few as a snack.

[rjbh20]

Green goddess dressing, pasta alla puttanesca, roast leg of lamb (in a rub with parsley, olive oil, garlic & oregano), sauce for grilled swordfish with lemon, capers & red pepper flake. Sometimes in meat (lamb or beef) stews.

[ferret]

Saute in olive oil with minced garlic and toss with linguine.

[KimberlySH]

I agree with the posters above - anchovies melted into olive oil and garlic go great with pasta. I like to add some red pepper flakes, broccoli, parmesan, and browned pancetta, then toss it all with penne.