Anchovy poll

So I just opened some Ortiz anchovies for a salad dressing.
I just bought them and was interested to taste as there had been a lot of hype about how good they are in the food porn press. The price had put me off and I’ve been using Cuca brand on the advice of bothe a local chef with a Spanish bent, and a highly respected Spanish providore. And they are very good, certainly vastly better than the run of the mill tinned varieties available., and better than the Italian ones I have tried. When I get some Cuca ones In a day or two I will do a tasting.
At more than double the price Ortiz will need to be seriously better, but hey how many do we use.

I’m an anchovy woman, if I’m out for pizza with someone and they order ”hold the anchovies p” I say put those on mine!LOL

Anchovies are like many other things that people like to say they hate when they really don't.

They tend to think of whole anchovies sitting on a pizza and their consideration of them ends there, without thought (nor usually knowledge of) the umami hit that they give to food when they are added without signaling their presence as chunks of fish.

[Jenise]

I like fish, but I don't like fishy fish and some anchovies cross that line for me. The best I've had were cured in salt, and that's about flavor but it's also about the drier, chewier texture, which I prefer. (Hey, once while doing a course at the Culinary Institute in Napa, I got the job of cleaning a huge 2 pound can of them. My hands stunk for days.)

[Robin Garr]

Before I quit eating animals, I loved anchovies. Fresh, salted, whatever. Even on pizza. Even snacking on a couple straigh out of the can.

Mmmm - rolled up around a caper!
All the food groups.

I'm with the J. Geils Band -- "no anchovies, please."

-Paul W.

[Robin Garr]

Before I quit eating animals, I loved anchovies. Fresh, salted, whatever. Even on pizza. Even snacking on a couple straight out of the can.

I only use them for two dishes, Putanesca sauce and pizza. Small dark in oil in tins.

The pizza chain I go to has changed their pizza after decades from the small dark one to a larger white one that tastes of fish and they don't give the proper taste to me.

Other uses:

'proper' Caesar salad dressing

anchoiade as the underlay to pissaladiere

broken up in sauteed mushroom dishes

Worcestershire sauce (which is based on anchovy)

in my rolled up butterflied leg of lamb (anchovies, garlic, rosemary, shallots, and lemon zest stuffing)

as a component of black olive tapenade

anchovy butter in one of my fave appie sandwiches (radish slices on bread spread with the butter)

in potato salad mayo

You can't even tell there are anchovies in many of those uses.

The Ortiz anchovies are very good, haven't had in a while. .

We keep a large jar (a bit larger than a pint I'd say)of anchovies at all times. Use for several things listed in Bill's post- leg of lamb, mushrooms, Caesar, pissaladiere. Couple variations on puttanesca.

Don't forget bagna cauda! I often break up a couple and (with a bit of garlic usually) use as an umami base when sauteeing blanched green beans, broccoli, rapini, etc.
Surprised Paul doesn't like, as he's a big Asian cooker- base for fish sauce, used a lot in several cuisines, though usually dried.

And then there's white anchovies (boquerones)

I like fish, but I don't like fishy fish and some anchovies cross that line for me. The best I've had were cured in salt, and that's about flavor but it's also about the drier, chewier texture, which I prefer.

I'm with her!

I agree with Peter - puttanesca, and pizza, delizioso! I'm open to a little anchovy in other things too. I used to make wiener schnitzel with anchovy paste under the crumb layer but I haven't made schnitzel for years.

Cooking down anchovy filets until they melt into a paste is a great way to start any number of dishes, not just the Italian ones one normally thinks of when this technique is mentioned. Anything that needs an umami boost can benefit from this addition, particularly if your recipe starts by sweating some sort of sofritto.

I prefer the salt cured version myself, but as they've priced themselves out of my range I now primarily rely on tubes of anchovy paste. Although I normally eschew shortcuts like that, I have to say that I don't notice any difference in this case.

I used to have access to 1 pound cans of anchovies packed in coarse salt and used them to make persil anchoiade to make my favourite pissaladiere - a caramelized onion and nicoise onion tart. They are usually shown with some anchovy fillets and olives on top of a bed of onion. My version has a fairly thick layer of anchoiade right on top of the pastry, with the onions and olives on top.

Bottle of good Bandol Rose and a chair in the shade and you are set for the afternoon!

I can dig up the recipe if anyone wants it.

[Jenise]

I used to have access to 1 pound cans of anchovies packed in coarse salt and used them to make persil anchoiade to make my favourite pissaladiere - a caramelized onion and nicoise onion tart. They are usually shown with some anchovy fillets and olives on top of a bed of onion. My version has a fairly thick layer of anchoiade right on top of the pastry, with the onions and olives on top.

Bottle of good Bandol Rose and a chair in the shade and you are set for the afternoon!

I can dig up the recipe if anyone wants it.

I would think you'd be able to get something like that at Bosa. No?

Bosa has half kilo size I think, but my source used to be Portuguese anchovies, very flavourful. Haven't seen them in quite awhile. Never mind, I'll make that dish next summer with whatever I can get and you can pass judgement on whether it exceeds your anchovy tolerance! Hmm...anchovy terrine....

I used to have access to 1 pound cans of anchovies packed in coarse salt and used them to make persil anchoiade to make my favourite pissaladiere - a caramelized onion and nicoise onion tart. They are usually shown with some anchovy fillets and olives on top of a bed of onion. My version has a fairly thick layer of anchoiade right on top of the pastry, with the onions and olives on top.

Bottle of good Bandol Rose and a chair in the shade and you are set for the afternoon!

I can dig up the recipe if anyone wants it.

Ahh, we could be friends,
Would love your recipe please Bill.

[Jenise]

Speaking of little fiddies, today I signed up for Tuna Club 2018. Yes, indeedy. I'm going to spend Thanksgiving weekend in a warehouse canning a whole school of tuna in exchange for cases of same to bring home.

Better get a T shirt to wear to the factory declaring yourself a 'No Skipjack' zone!

[Jenise]

Not a factory though. A grange (small town meeting hall). They can the tuna in glass jars--it's the best canned tuna I've ever had.

:) Not a factory though. A grange (small town meeting hall).

Ahh - that's what you meant when you said you were going to a Grange tasting....

I agree with Peter - puttanesca, and pizza, delizioso! I'm open to a little anchovy in other things too. I used to make wiener schnitzel with anchovy paste under the crumb layer but I haven't made schnitzel for years.

Ah, I got up to London once a month to a restaurant whose menu hasn't changed since the '70s to I have Escalope of Veal Holstein. That's Weiner Schnitzel topped with anchovies, capers and a fried egg. Yummmee..

* review https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrin ... eview.html

Speaking of little fiddies, today I signed up for Tuna Club 2018. Yes, indeedy. I'm going to spend Thanksgiving weekend in a warehouse canning a whole school of tuna in exchange for cases of same to bring home.

OMG, how come I didn’t know such a thing existed. Love great tuna. Think I posted my recipe for conserved tuna years ago. Made another jar 3 weeks ago (third processing this year) which I just finished eating. Yum!

Pumpkin and I had fancy, jarred, Italian tuna (in brine) tonight, too. A local shop closed suddenly and I managed to grab a few jars at 40% off. (Good discount, bad reason for it.)