I was a late convert to anchovies. I spent most of my life thinking they were just something adults used to make sure the kids didn’t eat all the pizza. Of course when I move to Italy (cue Heavenly Chorus) all that changed.
What’s not to love? First there is the retro packaging with the unselfconscious italian flag border, and the minimal print on the actual tube. You’ll note that I prefer to buy the MAXI because one should never run out of pasta d’acciughe.
But what can you do with anchovy paste? My favorite is a broccoli pasta sauce. Cook the broccoli with a chopped onion until it has fallen apart and has turned into a cream. This takes an hour or so. Add a generous tablespoon of anchovy paste. You will not taste anchovies! You will just taste an unidentifiable hint of deliciousness! Add half a can of tomato puree and cook a little longer and then just before it’s done add a handful of breadcrumbs. Use with orecchiete (“little ear”-shaped durum pasta) or penne. Some people like to brown some additional breadcrumbs to pop on top but I never do.
What’s good for brocolli is good for cauliflower, that’s what I say. So I pop some anchovy into my cauliflower sformatas.
And then there’s the life-changing use of anchovy: fennel salad with slices of orange, and an anchovy vinaigrette. If I were on death row and was offered a last meal, I would ask for this, preferably served on a sunny terrace in Palermo or Mondello. Ok, this one is not technically Tuscan, but it’s one of those specifically Italian things that my life would be just a little bit smaller without.
All hail the humble and underappreciated little fishy!
