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What can I do with a small jar of anchovies?


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Old 20-03-2016, 11:05
njp
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They live in my cupboard, and have done for years: Tesco finest anchovy fillets in salt. 100g net weight, 58g drained. I occasionally pick them up and look at them, and wonder how they got there.

So the time has come to use them or lose them. No longer will they be allowed to mock my culinary cowardice on a daily basis. I think I had anchovies on a pizza once and hated them. I know they are an ingredient in Worcester sauce, which I like. Other than that, I'm clueless about anchovies.

Any suggestions?
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Old 20-03-2016, 11:22
Iggy's Boy
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If you're doing a roast shoulder or leg of lamb, stab holes all over the meat and stuff with slivers of garlic and torn in half anchovies. They'll melt away as the meat roasts and you won't taste anchovy at the end, but they'll enhance the flavour of the lamb. A couple thrown into a lamb stew does the same job.

They're also essential in puttanesca pasta sauce. Fried in olive oil they again melt away and with the addition of crushed garlic, tomato purée, black olives and capers, you get a deeply flavoured, salty tomato sauce that goes a long way and is delicious with spaghetti.
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Old 20-03-2016, 11:44
swingaleg
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Following a thread on DS a couple of years ago I had a spell of putting anchovies in stews, pasta sauces and curries.......they dissolve into the 'juice' but surprisingly don't make it taste of fish.

I guess in culinary terms they add background depth, a bit like garlic would
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Old 20-03-2016, 12:04
njp
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Thank you both, that's useful. If used in a pasta sauce, would I be looking at throwing the whole jar in, or just a couple of fillets? Can I think of them as a sort of garlic clove equivalent (in terms of quantity needed, not taste)?

I was intending to make a slow cooker chicken casserole soon. Would a few anchovy fillets enhance the flavour of that, or do they work better with lamb?
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Old 20-03-2016, 12:04
Skyler_Wright
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Roasted red pepper and anchovy salad on garlic toasts?

A Spanish tapas tradition.
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Old 20-03-2016, 12:15
Iggy's Boy
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Thank you both, that's useful. If used in a pasta sauce, would I be looking at throwing the whole jar in, or just a couple of fillets? Can I think of them as a sort of garlic clove equivalent (in terms of quantity needed, not taste)?

I was intending to make a slow cooker chicken casserole soon. Would a few anchovy fillets enhance the flavour of that, or do they work better with lamb?
Re: pasta sauce - just 2-3 fillets.

Re: chicken casserole - I wouldn't put them in that. Might be okay but they go best with lamb.
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Old 20-03-2016, 12:54
barbeler
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Give the disgusting things to a cat – if it wouldn't turn its nose up at them.

Otherwise, leave the jar open and let them ferment in the sun to create garum, the sauce made by fermenting rotten fish, which was used in Ancient Rome.

Then throw it away.
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Old 20-03-2016, 12:54
njp
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Re: pasta sauce - just 2-3 fillets.

Re: chicken casserole - I wouldn't put them in that. Might be okay but they go best with lamb.
Right, pasta sauce it is. I can play around with some different combinations of ingredients. Thanks again.
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Old 20-03-2016, 21:08
degsyhufc
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Have a read of this thread, especially post 12.
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1368319
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Old 21-03-2016, 00:21
Toby LaRhone
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Sainsbury's have a series of ads at the moment called "little twists" suggesting additions of "unusual ingredients" to everyday dishes.
Two of them feature anchovies as seasoning - shepherd's pie and spag bol.
https://www.homemadebyyou.co.uk/reci...-anchovy-twist
https://www.homemadebyyou.co.uk/arti...tti-bolognaise
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Old 21-03-2016, 08:52
Jambo_c
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I really like salsa verde and use anchovies in that.
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Old 21-03-2016, 09:56
Shrike
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Re: pasta sauce - just 2-3 fillets.

Re: chicken casserole - I wouldn't put them in that. Might be okay but they go best with lamb.
Anchovies are an important part of chicken provençal - though you should mash up the fillets first.

I sometimes break up a few fillets in oil in a saucepan then add cream and fresh parsley to make a pasta sauce.
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Old 21-03-2016, 11:52
Iggy's Boy
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Anchovies are an important part of chicken provençal - though you should mash up the fillets first.
True, but provencal sauce is a bold, gutsy tomato and garlic sauce, whereas I would have thought a traditional chicken casserole would be a more delicate affair with a light chickeny gravy and that anchovies might be a bit overpowering for it. Might be fine though.
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Old 21-03-2016, 13:32
Shrike
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Who wants a wishy-washy namby-pamby light sauce when you could have a bold, gutsy tomatoy garlicy sauce?

And you have black olives in Chicken Provençal - doesn't get much better than that!
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Old 22-03-2016, 19:39
alan29
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Open the jar. Pour yourself a glass of good beer. Take alternate mouthfuls.
Bash them up with some black olives, garlic and salt. Spread on hot buttered toast. Go to heaven.
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Old 23-03-2016, 13:26
Ella Nut
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Nigella's Olive & Anchovy pasta. I've made it, it's delicious. The good thing is that the anchovies are whizzed into a pesto like paste with all the other ingredients. Okay sounds horrible but tastes great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgqMCKQ0QMg
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Old 24-03-2016, 12:11
LaVieEnRose
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This!
Tons of suggestions there, but in general there are few savoury dishes that are not improved by the inclusion of an anchovy or two
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Old 24-03-2016, 12:21
njp
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This!
Tons of suggestions there, but in general there are few savoury dishes that are not improved by the inclusion of an anchovy or two
I'm wishing I had put some of the damn things in my chicken casserole now!

Thanks for the continuing suggestions. I'm getting the sense that most of the things I can do with anchovies also need black olives, so I'll make sure I have some on standby.
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Old 26-03-2016, 18:16
a11ie
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No olives required and delicious!
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1...-and-anchovies
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Old 26-03-2016, 21:23
degsyhufc
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I'm wishing I had put some of the damn things in my chicken casserole now!

Thanks for the continuing suggestions. I'm getting the sense that most of the things I can do with anchovies also need black olives, so I'll make sure I have some on standby.
I can't stand olives so no, you don't need them unless you like them.
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Old 27-03-2016, 11:51
Gogfumble
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This is a lovely JO recipe for hunters stew that uses anchovies. It's very yummy

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/c...mvM3qzOXPzQ.97
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Old 28-03-2016, 12:04
alan29
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Make a puttanesca sauce for pasta.
https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/p...uttanesca.html
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Old 29-03-2016, 09:20
DiamondDoll
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I'd solve the problem by throwing them in the bin.
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Old 29-03-2016, 10:55
postit
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This is a lovely JO recipe for hunters stew that uses anchovies. It's very yummy

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/c...mvM3qzOXPzQ.97
I call fake! No chillies?? Can't possibly be a Jamie Oliver recipe
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Old 29-03-2016, 11:42
LaVieEnRose
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I call fake! No chillies?? Can't possibly be a Jamie Oliver recipe
Funny you should say that. I made some chicken stock yesterday, and was idly looking through some recipes to see how long people advise simmering it, when I came upon a Jamie Oliver recipe for chicken stock. There was a photo, in which a large red chilli featured prominently.
"Chillies in chicken stock? Surely not!" I thought.
Sure enough, no mention of chillies in the ingredients. Just a lazy photo editor, I suppose.

(I did slip an anchovy into mine )
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