Weekend Cook and Tell: Anchovies
Welcome once again to the Weekend Cook and Tell. Every Wednesday we peruse the food sections of various national newspapers and come up with an article or recipe to inspire a weekend cooking project. We want all of you to cook along with us and share your experiences, recipes, and photos.
This week's inspiration comes from an anchovy lover who wrote in to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune looking for more creative ways to embrace anchovies. Lynne Rosetto Kasper recommends that the reader make a versatile anchovy sauce that can be added to everything from grilled eggplant and green beans to potatoes and pasta. Kasper notes that anchovies "are loaded with umami (the so-called fifth taste), an element in certain foods that lifts the flavors of everything it's blended with."
So, you guessed it! This week's challenge is all about anchovies, those little furry fish that have a tendency to elicit some pretty strong reactions. If you haven't cooked with anchovies before, please take this challenge as an opportunity to experience the deliciousness that these fish have to offer. If you are a bona fide anchovy lover, like myself, this challenge won't be much of a challenge at all. This weekend we want you to make a dish that uses anchovies.
Keep us posted over the weekend and let us how you are going to be preparing your anchovies. Show us your photos on Photograzing (make sure to include "Cook and Tell" in your submission title) and tell us about your recipes in Talk with comments on this thread! If you'd like to blog along from home, leave a link to your Cook and Tell blog post in the comments. Next Wednesday we will be posting a round up of your photos and recipes. We can't wait to see what kind of anchovy surprises this weekend is going to bring!
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29 Comments:
Is it a recipe if you eat the anchovy straight from the can?? It's pretty salty, but nonetheless, good eats! And, Omega-3's, so that helps my hear....
Juman23 at 4:11PM on 07/29/09
Pasta Con Sarde......absolutely delicious. Photo's on my blog if you're interested.
onepercent99 at 4:54PM on 07/29/09
I like to make a Caesar veggie dip. It's just mayo, sour cream, garlic, parm, lemon juice and anchovy paste. It's super and what's funny is that my husband who hates anchovies happens to love this dip too. He once said regarding his hatred of broccoli that "Broccoli is the anchovy of vegetables."
dhorst at 5:23PM on 07/29/09
Would a bloody mary with a dash of worcestershire sauce count? : )
semarr at 5:27PM on 07/29/09
In college, I used to make this absolutely ridiculous dish based on what I could reasonably find and prepare in and around my dorm. Soak 2 bricks of chicken-flavored ramen in hot water without the seasoning packets. Then drain and dump into a large bowl along with one entire tin of anchovies, oil and all, and the two seasoning packets. Only one if I was feeling particularly virtuous. Stir and consume greedily, accompanied by a can (or two) of Dr. Pepper.
I have since never made the dish again, for fear of offending the powers of heaven. But I might just risk it for the good of the Cook & Tell.
shoneyjoe at 7:58PM on 07/29/09
i make a white bean and artichoke salad with lemon, parsley, and capers. i top fresh bread with it, and then lay 2 or 4 anchovies on top. tonight im planning on making a panzanella with a ton of anchovies, oil, and roma tomatoes.
i LOVE anchovies
amusebouche at 8:39PM on 07/29/09
love them...I just eat'em on crackers if I don't have anything else around. Generally, anytime I am making a sauce for pasta, I melt several fillets of them in hot olive oil before adding any other ingredients!
southeasterneater at 8:59PM on 07/29/09
When I was growing up in the 50s in Cincinnati, the tea room at one of the downtown department stores served sandwiches on a dark rye made with turkey breast, anchovies and Russian dressing. Even as a kid I thought they were delicious. I think I need to try a re-creation!
ChloeA at 8:36AM on 07/30/09
Anchovy, squash blossoms, and fresh mozzarella pizza. Scrumptious!
jammin83 at 9:45AM on 07/30/09
shred up two good-sized zucchini and add it to a pan of sauteed yellow onion. add in an entire can of mashed anchovies with plenty of grated garlic, a dash of red pepper flakes and allow to soften and melt. dump in a pound of cooked spaghetti with a dash of the cooking water and stir to coat. finish with plenty of parsley and fresh mint. seriously yummy pasta dish hot or room temperature that'll turn anchovy-haters into anchovy-lovers (they won't be able to tell what the fantastically salty bite is).
kiira at 10:02AM on 07/30/09
I make a chicken salad that I am told is from that bar in Venice that created Bellinis (brain freeze on name; sorry). Chicken, hard-cooked egg, mayo, a little grated onion, black pepper and a whole tin of chopped anchovies. Even anchovy haters scarf these sandwiches down; I have used it as little tea-party sized ones and they just disappear.
lemons at 10:56AM on 07/30/09
OMG This is making me want anchovies so bad even though I haven't eaten one in forvever!
Luby26 at 11:57AM on 07/30/09
This is seriously making me crave the teeny sweet and salty anchovy banchan. *swoon*
Cassaendra at 12:03PM on 07/30/09
there was post awhile back for a pasadilere - french pizza with caramelized onions, olives, anchovies & goat cheese. it's amazing!
also, just reduce anchovies and add to red sauce and it really kicks up the flavor so you have an instant homemade tomato sauce with pasta!
emoelely at 12:23PM on 07/30/09
this dinner tonight post from a while back has become a staple for me. Absolutely delicious. i love how the anchovies more or less disappear into the dish and just give it this nice salty richness that isn't in any way 'fishy'.
mr guy at 1:00PM on 07/30/09
I just made anchovy butter to be served with sliced radishes as an appetizer (recipe from the recent Gourmet). Does it count if I used paste?
Myabsurdlife at 1:45PM on 07/30/09
Putanesca: Dissolve a few anchovy fillets into some hot olive oil, add (all to taste) onions, garlic, chopped black olives (I use oil-cured), chopped capers, pinch(es) of crushed red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and a can of good, chopped tomatoes with their juice. Simmer while the pasta cooks, loosen with some pasta water as necessary, finish with chopped parsley (or other herbs), and voila...
Rhetor at 2:32PM on 07/30/09
A tapas bar I used to go to had an awesome plate that was toasted bread topped with Manchego cheese, sliced tomato and anchovies. Mmmmm! That might be lunch today... Also, they sometimes do a crostini with creme fraiche and a dollop of salmon roe, encircled by a white anchovy. It's one of my favorite things ever.
Amandarama at 9:42AM on 07/31/09
I put a squeeze of anchovy paste in many things to add depth and umami quickly... Spaghetti Bolognese, stuffed veggies, dips, etc. It's also really nice in deviled eggs. I prefer anchovy paste to can or jar, because it lasts a looooooooot longer. (I'm native JP who cooks many different int'l cuisine which doesn't require anchovies, so this works better for me.) You can also substitute it with fish sauce (which, to my surprise, many celebrity chefs are doing, including Gary Danko and Hiro Sone.)
Kitchen Wizard at 12:03PM on 07/31/09
I just kicked up @kira's concoction by adding a chopped tomato and a bit of bacon. I like it. Thanks. I'd never have dreamed that recipe up on my own.
ChloeA at 11:27AM on 08/01/09
Made a pasta dish using last weekend's unused leftover veggies and some capers: http://cassaendra.blogspot.com/2009/08/anchovies.html
Cassaendra at 8:17PM on 08/02/09
In Genoa, where we live, we are used to prepare a solution with salt and water ( we call it salamoia- maybe "brine" ???) and conserve fresh anchovies over six months ( unless we eat them earlier, of course), with a stone upon the jar. My father prepare them directly in the beach, and they are incredible tasty.
One of the most popular recipe, here, is the "tortino di acciughe", a pleasant tasting anchovies pie, or simply fried, with some lemon drops and parsley, if you like.
You can find all the recipes here
http://menuturistico.blogspot.com/2009/05/acciughe.html
hi
alessandra
daniela at 4:48PM on 08/03/09
@lemons: Harry's Bar!
PDXbiker at 6:19PM on 08/03/09
Well, I went back in time to college and I made that ramen / anchovy meal again (see above). First impressions were not kind: I overcooked the ramen, which was darn near impossible in school due to cooking limitations (soaking a ramen brick in hot water is a lot different than cooking ramen stovetop).
But once I got around the texture, the taste certainly took me back. It's salty and oily and fishy and delicious, with a hint of ridiculous. The anchovies got nice and warm and unctuous, while the olive oil mixed in with the ramen seasoning to create a thickly spiced paste. I'd probably add a squeeze of lemon or a small shot of balsamic vinegar next time. Perhaps also some smoked paprika or a few dashes of tabasco. And oh yes, there *will* be a next time.
shoneyjoe at 8:47PM on 08/03/09
@kiira - I made your recipe for pasta with zucchini and anchovies last night, and it was incredibly delicious! Even without the parsley and mint, which I totally forgot to buy. : )
Junie at 9:07AM on 08/04/09
@daniela: that looks fab--and I'm so pleased that I can actually understand most of your post (I am slowly learning Italian)!
A few weeks ago I made dinner as the husband was in the city for a meeting, and I made a sort-of-sauce with vermouth, olive oil, anchovies, garlic, salt, pepper and some crushed red pepper: http://takebackyourkitchen.com/2009/07/03/07-02-09-dinner-improv-roman-style-with-pasta-garlic-anchovies-and-vermouth/
ElizabethS at 7:35PM on 08/04/09
today for lunch i fried* some garlic with a couple of pieces of anchovies and crushed chilli until fragrant, dumped some al dente pasta and a handful of halved cherry tomatoes. it only needed more anchovies.
*: i used the olive oil in which the anchovies were packed in
other days i make anchovy puff pastry twists; crumble anchovies on a sheet of puff pastry, cut puff pastry into long thin strips, twist, and bake til puffy and crispy.
natamari at 8:34AM on 08/05/09
my boyfriend and i have just come back from a camping trip - where most of his food intake were anchovies straight out of the can. with nothing else!
He also says he craves it most of the time, like a NEED not a want.
haha! Does anyone else get that?
sugarglass at 11:15AM on 08/05/09
This probably sounds a bit crazy but I make nachos with anchovies (in olive oil). Actually, I made this for dinner tonight. Otherwise, the nachos are pretty normal.
Foodie Penguin at 7:38PM on 08/05/09