Anchovies: Way or No Way?
These little fishies are so much more than bait! I love 'em in salad dressing - what would a Caesar Salad be without anchovies? Worcestershire sauce, remoulade, compound butters - all enhanced by the tiny anchovy. At least, in my opinion.
The strong taste is due to the curing process. In Roman times, raw anchovies were considered to be an aphrodisiac.
Do you love it as I do, or not?
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52 Comments:
Aside from a Caesar salad nope. I would never put anchovies on pizza. But I am kind of curious about the taste of anchovies Ray Ray keeps putting in her sauces, does anyone do this, and does it make a big difference?
pjracz10 at 8:16AM on 12/30/08
WAY! I love the salty, fishy creatures. XH-3 used to call them, "hairy, salty fish." How dare he diss the beloved alice. (Ah-LEE-cha.)
therealchiffonade at 8:27AM on 12/30/08
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Unlock at 8:31AM on 12/30/08
Love 'em! To me, pizza is nothing more than a vehicle for the delivery of anchovies.
1stmakearoux at 8:37AM on 12/30/08
ummmm what's with the Unlock???? Get that spammer off here!
And a definite NO WAY on the hairy salty fishies. Blech.
juliebugsmama at 8:38AM on 12/30/08
SHILL.
And not even a funny, touching story to go along with the schtick. At the least I expect a tie-in to the topic, like my only grandma kept anchovies in her pocket and the smell always reminds me of her. I had her best anchovy recipe on my iPhone and it was locked! The horrors of it all. I had to make catfish farmer instead, to have with my Kona coffee.
PerkyMac at 8:38AM on 12/30/08
"I love the fishes 'cause they're so delicious..."
annabanannas at 8:40AM on 12/30/08
@Perk!!! LOL!!!!...."I had to make a catfish farmer...."
juliebugsmama at 8:42AM on 12/30/08
no way! Yucky!
NanaJoie at 8:43AM on 12/30/08
Anchovies. Hmmmmm, maybe that's why......never mind.
izatryt at 9:09AM on 12/30/08
Yes! My favorite pizza place, Waldy's in New York (6th Ave b/t 28th and 27th Sts.) puts FREE anchovies on their pizzas. I always get them. I also put them on my own pizzas and sauces whenever I get the chance.
syannelevovna at 9:16AM on 12/30/08
As a child I hated them. Then I had children of my own and my mom introduced them to anchovies. They loved them, I tried them, I love them.
So, way!
deefine at 9:27AM on 12/30/08
anchovies of good quality are quite good.... there are some used by lesser pizza joints that have given them a bad name.... but sign me up for "Way"
Pavlov at 9:27AM on 12/30/08
Way on the on anchovies.....make my tomatoe sauce with them
Markbb at 9:37AM on 12/30/08
Anchovies adda subtle taste to sauces, sort of an unami thing, and I've never met or heard of someone who could taste them used that way. Being a salty-fishy-type person I love them. Mr. Meatloaf and I believe there's an anchovy gene. My stepdaughter-in-law swears she married her DH because they could order anchovy pizzas. Her sister's kid would eat the salted anchovies straight from the fridge if I had allowed it. (At least wash off the salt, sweetie.) And the kid's kid is eating bits of anchovy on cucumber slices at age 3! Another of the second generation was eating caviar sandwiches when he was in kindergarten. (Lived in Norway, inexpensive caviar came in tubes like anchovy paste, and had that same salty-fishy tang.)
lemons at 9:53AM on 12/30/08
I love'em like you do, there's no such thing as a caesar dressing with no anchovies! As long as they're not too cheap.
I also like them straight out of the tin on melba rounds sometimes, along with some smoked oysters nom nom nom
@Markbb - do you use this tomato sauce just for pizza? pasta? sounds interesting...
hungrychristel at 10:30AM on 12/30/08
love em, not by themselves but as part of a recipe, there is nothing better!
I love them in bagna cada(?) sp
huneybumper at 10:31AM on 12/30/08
In dressings and sauces, yes. On pizza? No thankyou, please!
dhorst at 10:41AM on 12/30/08
love em
gastronomeg at 10:50AM on 12/30/08
Way, way, way! And I don't even like fish, for the most part:-)
brooke29 at 10:55AM on 12/30/08
Love, love, love anchovies. They are in every braised dish I make. No one knows they're in there but they always comment on that "wonderful, complex flavor."
bessfour at 11:23AM on 12/30/08
No way! Can't say I've ever eaten one whole but I've had anchovy flavoring and even in Caesar salad, I am no such fan. I think this is only my second No way!
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 11:33AM on 12/30/08
@hungreycristel...yes I make a big batch of the sauce and freeze most of it and use it for pastas and pizza sauce I truely believe that the anchovies add another dimension to the sauce and you can truely call in marinara sauce
Markbb at 12:08PM on 12/30/08
Love them in dressings (Caeser salad without them is criminal!), sauces (orchiette with broccoli and anchovies, yum!) but not really fond of them on pizza.
jinx35 at 12:08PM on 12/30/08
Love!
So good in the things already mentioned, but also a key ingredient in one of my favorite pasta dishes (simple, melt anchovies in hot skillet with olive oil, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, toss in some cooked angel hair, a little pasta water, toss, deeeee-lish!)
wookie at 12:25PM on 12/30/08
I've never had one, that I am aware of. However, there are times I have had Caeser dressing and thought "wow, this is better than some others I've had." My guess is that these dressings have anchovies incorporated in the recipe. I've always wanted to try one but never have.
Butrflygirly at 12:33PM on 12/30/08
Way!
The tapas place down the street does a crostini spread with creme fraiche and topped with white anchovies and salmon roe. It's one of my favorite things ever!
Amandarama at 12:36PM on 12/30/08
The more the merrier! When ordering caesar salads with friends I usually tell the waiter to deposit everyone else's on my salad. Most people hate them but since I'm addicted to salt I love them!!!!
RichardCrystal at 12:43PM on 12/30/08
Way - what would puttanesca sauce be without!
Kimc54 at 1:13PM on 12/30/08
Love them right out of the can. I love them on pasta with garlicy olive oil or leftover mashed potatoes and on baguettes with melted mozzerella and tomatoes.
finsbigfan at 1:18PM on 12/30/08
I use them on pizza all the time, and I always have to steal a couple to eat plain. I love them so salty, delicious much.
schwartz at 1:50PM on 12/30/08
ick, ick, ick... i wish i liked them because my father in law makes bagna culda all the time and its so tempting cause i L-O-V-E garlic but its that fish taste that gets me. he also stuffs calamari with bread crumbs and anchovies and i try it every time and just cant take their taste :( i want to like them i really do!
hungrygrl7 at 3:28PM on 12/30/08
Way, sort of. I don't like them plain, but I enjoy the flavor in Caesar salads, Worcestershire sauce, and other such things.
jenilowrance at 3:28PM on 12/30/08
Way-love them in Caesar salads (I also get everyone elses at the table given to me), with the garlicky olive oil on pasta, on pizza, right out of the can, etc. I sometimes put them in my sauces and tho' the Bear family claims they hate anchovies they love my sauce!
Panda18 at 5:06PM on 12/30/08
only in caesar salads
dearrie at 5:28PM on 12/30/08
sorry, way!!
dearrie at 6:02PM on 12/30/08
No way! Never could stand them. Although to be fair, this may be because I have never given them enough of a chance; I am still scarred for life by the greasy, salty, fishy-tasting "things" that made very unwelcome appearances on some of the pizzas of my youth. I've never been able to bring myself to try anchovies again in any way, shape or form.
Steen at 7:49PM on 12/30/08
I can only tolerate them if they are so smushed up as to be totally unrecognizable. I appreciate the extra saltiness, but I'm grossed out if I see them.
I ordered a steak in a French place, and after several bites, realized the funny taste was due to the fact that the whole thing was smeared with anchovy paste...blech!
I think they are in Worcestershire sauce, the way they should be...hardly there at all.
chanterelle at 12:05AM on 12/31/08
i love anchovies. i just ate some tonight in a pasta i made with white beans and red sauce. delicious. although i had to take out my bf's portion before the anchovies went in. not sure why people hate anchovies so much. it's a mystery.
bionicgrrrl at 2:06AM on 12/31/08
"I love the fishes 'cause they're so delicious..."
annabanannas at 8:40AM on 12/30/08
Love that answer @annabanannas. I've been called Deanna Banana.
I have never had anchovy pizza. I don't believe I've ever seen it as a topping choice. That will change in the new year. I'm with the, "I can eat it out of the tin" brigade. I love them in Caesar salad dressing and whole on the salad.
PerkyMac at 8:06AM on 12/31/08
Way! Love them in Ceasar salad; had never had them on pizza till earlier this year, but now I'm hooked!
cowprintrabbit at 11:19AM on 12/31/08
Any thoughts on anchovy paste vs the jarred fish? I'm sure high quality real anchovies are better...Just bought tube of Amore brand to try.
specktaker at 11:41AM on 12/31/08
The higher the quality the less yuck factor. I use some of Rachel's and some of Giada's recipes that have you dissolve anchovies in hot olive oil with garlic and then proceed with the recipe. Never ever use the 79 cent ones in the tins. Never. I only eat them on salad in very upscale restaurants. So Way AND no way.
ocarol at 1:07PM on 12/31/08
Be aware that anchovy paste also contains added vinegar, spices, and water.
ocarol at 1:11PM on 12/31/08
way all the way.
1) stuffed with rosemary and garlic slivers into tiny bore holes i make in leg of lamb before roasting
2) in pasta puttanesca
3) the marinated kind on grilled bread with goats cheese
4) the fresh kind deep fried and eaten whole, preferable with a super chilled glass of fino
astarteny at 2:03PM on 12/31/08
I hate anchovies. Hate them. Now, if small amounts have been incorporated into a recipe, dissolved and such, they really can improve the taste of things (yay umami), but to actually taste the nasty little creature itself? Yuck.
chisai at 2:19PM on 12/31/08
I've only had dried, whole anchovies in Japanese and Korean side dishes. I love how sweet, moist, chewy, and spicy they are. Oh, and in nuoc mam. I'd love to check out anchovies in other preparations at a restaurant some time.
Cassaendra at 5:55PM on 12/31/08
Love, love, love 'em!
I would eat them on a train, I would eat them on a plane. I would eat them from a can, I would eat them from a pan. I would eat them here or there, I would eat them any where! I love them, love them, Sam I Am.
(Sorry Dr. Seuss.)
Calichef at 12:34AM on 01/01/09
;-D @Calichef
ha ha ... me too!
PerkyMac at 10:17AM on 01/01/09
Way, but I have to sneak them into the kitchen and into the dishes 'cus noone else in the place claims to like them. I don't often eaten "straight up" except on pizza but they add a depth to a lot of things from the background.
czken at 1:04PM on 01/01/09
Other than flavoring in a few things, like Worcestershire sauce, NO WAY. When I worked at a pizza place I'd practically pay other employees to put anchovies on a pizza for me, if they'd been requested.
And, @iPhone spammer--screw you!!!
buffy at 5:10PM on 01/02/09
ANCHOVIES!!!!!!!!! WHITE ONES.... REGULAR ONES! Oh man! They are delicious! Perfect on salads, on fish, on ANYTHING! I have loved them every since I was little! Have you ever heard of a 4 year old liking anchovies?
Giasbash6260 at 11:01PM on 01/06/09