Tag: pantry

Anchovies in oil: why always keep them in the pantry – Italian Cuisine

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

that's why always have it in the pantry – Italian Cuisine

When the fridge is empty, we can count on this food rich in nutrients and Omega 3, perfect to be enjoyed alone or in a salad or, again, as an ingredient for a sauce prepared at the last minute

The mackerel belongs to the fish category of blue fish and it is rich in nourishing properties and mono and poly unsaturated fats, the famous ones Omega 3, which do so well to our cardiovascular system. It is also an incredible source of minerals, such as iodine, potassium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium and copper, as well as di vitamins, the D but above all of the group B (B1, B2 and B3). For these (and other) reasons, it would be good to always have it available at home, to be used at the right time, to save a dinner or as an ingredient in a dish.

How to choose packaged mackerel: in oil is better

On supermarket shelves we can find it packaged mackerel in different ways. Which is better to choose? Without a doubt the packs with extra virgin olive oil they are preferable to those in which the fish is preserved in seed oil. In addition to the mackerel vitamins, this would also take all the vitamins and vitamins polyphenols contained in extra virgin olive oil, a real cure-all for our health. If it wasn't in oil extra virgin of olive, you can opt for that natural.

Glass vs metal: which is better?

The mackerel can be found packed in glass jars or in metal tins. Of the two, better to prefer the glass, because it allows you to see the product well inside, if it is intact fillets or single pieces put together, if the meats are firm and if they are of a homogeneous color. The only precaution: once purchased, leave it in a dry and dark place, because the transparent glass does not protect it from light, as the metal box would do.

Mackerel in oil in the kitchen

You didn't have time to shop and you don't know what to bring to the table? The mackerel in oil that you have in the pantry it will solve everything.

Open a package, drain it, chop it and add it to the fresh salad. Add some chopped cherry tomatoes, one Tropea onion sliced, some olives and a boiled egg. You will have a version of theNicoise salad mackerel based.

Do you fancy a plate of spaghetti but haven't you prepared any gravy? Make an onion sauté, add the drained mackerel, a pinch of hot pepper and a sprinkling of oregano: a tasty first course ready in a few minutes.

For a richer salad, boil some potatoes in salted water, peel them and cut them into pieces. Chop some mackerel fillets and add them to the potatoes together with a sliced onion. Complete with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, season with salt and finish with chopped oversize.

In the tutorial you will still find some ideas for bringing mackerel to the table

What should never be lacking in the pantry in winter? – Italian Cuisine

Winter is a season that requires a lot of comfort food. Here then, what can not be missing in a truly organized and supplied pantry

A food storage well organized is synonymous with saving – how many times did you buy tomato sauce when you already had it at home? -, of health – follow the seasons for fresh products means quality and genuine raw materials -, and of variety.

But what should never be missing in a respectable dispensation, especially during the winter season? Let's start from the basics. In a pantry really ready for any eventuality – even the invasion of the group of friends hungry at midnight -, there must always be: salt, sugar, extra virgin olive oil, flour (for bread, pizza and sweets), yeast, spices, pickles, tomato sauce, milk, pasta, rice, coffee, tea, preserves, jam, honey, biscuits and canned food.

To these products, in winter, add these too must have!

legumes

In winter, legumes are truly comfort food par excellence. Perfect to be eaten alone, as a side dish, they are the ingredient that can not be left out in soups or vegetable soups. Highly proteinic and satiating, always keep in the pantry beans, chickpeas and lentils.

Cereals

Even cereals are the ingredient that gives that extra touch to soups, a favorite dish on cold winter evenings. Kamut, buckwheat, but also spelled and barley: with a handful added to the minestrone, fill up with health and vitamins and minerals. With barley, you can cook too the orzotto, excellent with aromatic herbs or orange flavored, typical of this season.

Seasonal vegetables and fruit

Who said that winter is poor in fruit and vegetable varieties? At the market you can buy: artichokes, late radicchio, savoy cabbages, cabbage, cauliflower and leeks. As fruit, eaten oranges, kiwis, apples.

Tea and herbal teas

One of the best winter rituals is to pamper yourself with a hot one Evening herbal tea or an afternoon tea, in front of the fireplace. To be offered to visiting guests, always keep a wide range of infusions to be served with biscuits. The tastes? Black tea, green tea (antioxidant), but also a fennel and licorice herbal tea, digestive after party fights.