Tasty, fleshy and always at hand, with their taste they give an extra touch to many preparations. Here are some ideas for using them
The anchovies are part of the category blue fish, a food often overlooked in everyday cooking, but rich in nutrients with numerous beneficial effects on our body because it is an important source of omega-3 fats and omega-6 (with known antioxidant power), but also of proteins and minerals such as calcium, iron, phosphorus and selenium. If recovering them fresh may not always be simple, i fillets in oil they are found in all supermarkets and are a very valid ingredient, versatile and easy to use, to give an extra touch to salads and sauces or to prepare delicious appetizers.
How to choose them
Among the many proposals on the market, prefer the preserved fillets in extra virgin olive oil, relaxed and without added flavors. The glass packaging is better than the metal packaging, because the product is completely visible. Check that the fillets are whole, and not in small pieces: it would mean that these are waste elements put together to give the idea of a better product.
Local anchovies or Cantabrian sea anchovies?
These are two very different qualities. Our anchovies are smaller, less firm and ideal to be chopped in a pan to flavor sauces or vegetables. The Cantabrian anchovies instead, living in very cold waters, they have a much firmer body because they move continuously given the water temperature. Their meat is therefore thicker, ideal to be eaten whole, as tapas, on a crouton of bread and butter or with fresh cheese.
How to use anchovies in oil
A jar of anchovies at home is a must, to give a simple touch to a different one tomato pasta dish, to prepare an inviting finger food like a cbread rostino with a slice of tomato, one of avocado and a fillet of anchovies, to prepare a mousse with olives and capers and accompany grilled meat, as well as fantastic morsels made with buffalo mozzarella, a anchovy fillet rolled in a courgette with a few mint leaves, all sprinkled with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil with an intense aroma. Not to mention the extra touch that simple anchovy fillets can give to all stir-fried green leafy vegetables with a clove of garlic.
How to make anchovies in oil
If you are a lover of artisan preparations, with a few moves you will have delicious anchovies in oil, perfect to be enjoyed on a crouton or in one pasta with turnip greens. It is essential that the anchovies are very fresh, with shiny skin and pink-colored scales, a compact body, a well-protruding eye and a black pupil. And the oil must be of excellent quality, extra virgin olive oil and fragrant flavor.
Then take the anchovies, open them well, eviscerate them and remove the central bone, deprive them of the head and open them fillet, rinse and pat them with a paper towel. In a saucepan, bring the vinegar to a boil together with the white wine and sear the anchovy fillets for two minutes. Then drain and dry them with paper towels. After sterilized the jars in which you will place the anchovies, pour a drizzle of oil into each one, arrange the anchovies one on top of the other, still pour oil and continue to fill with anchovies and oil until the jar is full to the edge. Close with the cap, put all the jars in a pot with water, bring to the boil and leave for 5 minutes. Turn off, remove the jars and turn them upside down to form the vacuum. Leave to cool and then place your anchovies in the pantry, waiting a month before consuming them.
In the tutorial some other tips to use anchovies
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