What they called olives with anchovies inserted into them. What are anchovies

Fish lovers have probably tried anchovies at least once. This small fish is very tasty and is widely used in cooking. The product is also known to have certain health benefits.

From our article you will learn what anchovies are, where this fish is found and what beneficial properties it has, how to cook it correctly, look how they look in the photo!

Where it lives, features and rules of choice

Anchovy is a small fish from the herring order. Its more familiar name for many is anchovy.. There are about 15 species of this fish.

She has long body and gray-blue color. The head is flattened on the sides, and the mouth is large and disproportionate.

Fish live in large schools far from the shore. You can find them in both hemispheres. They live no more than four years and spread very quickly.

Anchovies are preserved, which allows you to store them for a long time and transport them over long distances.

Anchovies will benefit you if you know how to select and store them correctly.

Inspect appearance fish. Carcasses must be completely intact, without any defects.
The surface must be clean and shiny. A small amount of mucus is normal.
High-quality fish have scales that fit tightly and do not fall out. Her eyes should be transparent, not cloudy.
The body must be elastic. You can press it lightly - there should be no dents left.
If you buy processed anchovies, choose whole fish in brine. It is tastier than the oil version.

Fresh product is best used immediately, since during long-term storage it loses both its benefits and taste characteristics. You can store anchovy in the refrigerator for no more than four days. Frozen - up to three months.

Having bought fish in jars, you can transfer it to a plastic container, fill it with vegetable oil and close the lid tightly, then put it in the refrigerator.

On the pages of our website you will also learn and find several delicious and interesting recipes for its preparation.
We will tell you everything on our website! Why do nutritionists recommend introducing it into your diet?
What beneficial properties does rabbit meat have? - tips for consuming this dietary product.

How to cook: use in cooking

Hamsa is popular in cuisines around the world. They are eaten fresh, salted, dried, pickled, smoked. Heat treatment can be used for cooking: the fish is boiled, baked, fried, deep-fried. Interesting way cooking - stuffing anchovies with olives. Fish can be the main or auxiliary ingredient of a dish.

Methods of using anchovy differ depending on different countries. In Italy it is customary to add it to pizza, in Spain - sauces, and in France - as a filling for pies.

This fish is used for snacks, sandwich spreads, salads. Here are some simple and interesting recipes for cooking with anchovies.

Sticks with fish and parmesan

You will need to take a ready-made puff pastry or shortbread, roll it out to one centimeter, and place it on a baking sheet, previously greased. Place about 100 grams of grated cheese on top of the dough.

Place two cans of anchovies in oil in a thin layer on top of the Parmesan cheese. Then the dough needs to be cut into pieces so that each portion contains one fish. The sticks are baked in a hot oven for 10 minutes.

Potato salad with fish sauce

First you need to boil 700 g of new potatoes until tender. While it is cooking, in a blender, beat three tablespoons of mayonnaise, a spoon grated cheese Parmesan cheese, three anchovy fillets, a clove and the juice of half a lemon. Chop the potatoes, mix them with the resulting sauce, and garnish the dish with fried bacon.

Fish, artichoke and potato salad

Prepare 300 g of green salad, mix it with a can of anchovies. Coarsely chop the fish first. Add 450 grams of still warm chopped potatoes, 200 grams of chopped canned tuna and 200 grams of cooked green peas.

Salad topped with French dressing. It is recommended to garnish it with canned artichokes, large olives and chopped boiled eggs.

Baguette with tomatoes and anchovy

Buy two baguettes and cut them lengthwise. Place canned anchovies, chopped and fresh basil into the slits. You can season it to taste. Sprinkle with water and heat slightly in the oven. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

The finished chicken is placed on a plate, the juice remaining in the pan is heated. Then the baked garlic cloves are peeled and kneaded, and a third of the jar of anchovies in oil is added to them.

This dressing is prepared over low heat, It needs to be stirred periodically. Then add a glass of cream and season the dish. Boil for another two minutes, then serve along with the chicken.

And from this video you will learn a lot healthy recipe salting anchovies at home:

Anchovies are tasty and healthy. At proper preparation and if consumed in moderation, absolutely everyone can eat them.

Anchovies They are a small fish that belongs to the herring order. There is another name, which is more familiar to many - anchovy. There are approximately 15 varieties in total. The fish body is long and reaches an average of about 15 cm and is colored blue-gray. The head is laterally flattened, and the mouth is disproportionate and large (see photo).

Anchovies live in large schools far from the shore. You can meet this fish in both hemispheres. Life expectancy is no more than 4 years. This type of fish spreads quite quickly. Anchovies can be preserved, which allows them to be stored for 2 years and transported over long distances.

In some countries, a large number of anchovies are used in industry for the preparation of semi-finished products, fish meal, fertilizer, and also as bait for other more valuable fish. The video below shows additional information about this product.

Where are they found and how are they caught?

Where are anchovies found and how are they caught? This question can be heard both from people who are just setting foot on long haul knowledge of culinary skills, and from experienced chefs. The latter often do not think about it and simply use delicious fish to prepare masterpieces, as they say, from nothing. Let's look into this issue.

So, the genus of the anchovy family has fifteen species of fish that live everywhere in the waters of the oceans and most seas. Depending on their habitat, anchovies have slight differences in appearance and slightly different taste characteristics. The most known species of fish live in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as in the waters of the Black and Azov seas.And besides these subspecies, they are widely used in the world:

Argentinean anchovy, which is caught in the south of South America;
California anchovy, abundantly caught off the coast of North America;
Cape anchovy, flocking in schools in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of southern Africa;
Peruvian and silver anchovy, living off the coast at the junction of the continents of South and North America;
Japanese anchovy, living off the coast of Sakhalin and Kamchatka, as well as in the Sea of Okhotsk.

Due to its small size, the fish gather in schools and migrate in the underwater kingdom this way. This is what pushes people into commercial fishing. And this activity is very productive due to the large size of the schools and the wide distribution of anchovies. Typically, fishing is carried out at the end of summer or early autumn, when the fish enters relatively shallow waters. Anchovy prefers warm water, and in the cold season it goes to the south of the seas and sinks to a depth of more than eighty meters.

Anchovies are caught using special purse seines or pelagic trawls with fine mesh nets. Thus, a one-time fish catch can be of impressive volumes, and in the end the cost of production is quite low due to minimal costs. The price on the shelves is also reasonable.

The fishing of anchovies in large quantities in the last century created a situation where fishing was completely prohibited. Over time, when the population of this fish was restored in natural conditions (after all, it is inappropriate to breed this type of fish in fish farms), official fishing was resumed and its volumes were even increased somewhat. Now this fish is available on fish counters and sells out very quickly.

Anchovies, sprat, anchovy - what's the difference?

“Anchovies, sprat, anchovy - what’s the difference?” - you will think and start searching for information on the Internet and in specialized literature. Let's try to systematize our knowledge so that we don't have to waste time searching for the answer to this question.

So, all these types of fish are far from the same thing. Although the Black Sea anchovy is sometimes called anchovy, popularly called “black-backed anchovy,” this is fundamentally incorrect. Fish differ not only in appearance, but also in terms of taste. Experienced chefs will tell you about this, who confidently declare that only anchovy meat produces the most delicious and authentic sauces and seasonings for which the cuisine of the Mediterranean countries is so famous. Having generalized the knowledge, we reduce comparative characteristics on the plate.


	Oblong, cylindrical in shape, a disproportionately large head, as well as a huge mouth and disproportionately large eyes. Fresh fish has reddish spots on the body in the area of the gill slits.	Outwardly it resembles herring or small herring.	Oblong, cylindrical in shape, the head does not stand out against the general background, although, like the anchovy, it is quite large.
	Small and shiny, has inclusions of black on the main silver. After the catch, it is not completely washed off and often remains near the head and on the edge of the tail.	Small, silver. Completely removed during transportation	Medium size, silver with a slight yellow tint, and colorless when removed. Completely removed during transportation.
Weight (average value, in grams)
	Reaches 14 cm.	A large individual can reach 8 cm.	About 12 cm.
	Delicate, white. It feels dense and elastic.	It has a silvery tint and a more delicate taste than anchovy and anchovy.	White with a slight cream tint. More tender than anchovy, but also elastic.
Fat content	About 30% of the total weight.
	It is bland, but if the carcass is improperly cut it can acquire a specific bitterness. Tastes like fish oil.	Sweetish. The structure is similar to herring, although it has a pronounced taste of fish oil.	Neutral. Close in taste to herring. It does not have a pronounced fatty taste.

Each of these fish is unique in its own way, but only anchovies are used in “haute” cooking for preparing various dishes. This will be discussed in the following sections of the article. Other types of fish (from comparative table given above) They are used only as a protein supplement for unleavened dishes, although many different tasty and unusual dishes can also be prepared from them.

How to select and store?

In order not to harm the body and purchase quality fish, you need to know some secrets on how to choose it correctly:

When choosing processed anchovies, give preference to whole fish in brine, as they are larger and tastier compared to the option in oil.

It is recommended to use fresh anchovies immediately, since during storage the fish loses its beneficial and tasteful qualities. Maximum time storage in the refrigerator - 4 days. If anchovies are frozen, the time increases to 90 days. When buying fish in cans, place it in a plastic container, fill it with vegetable oil and seal it tightly with a lid. Place the jar in the refrigerator.

Useful properties of anchovies

The beneficial properties of anchovies are due to the presence of a variety of vitamins and minerals. The protein contained in fish is practically not inferior to animal meat. The calorie content of the product is at an average level, therefore small quantities Properly cooked fish can be consumed during the diet.

Anchovies contain vitamin A, which is necessary for visual acuity and to improve metabolic rate. They contain vitamin B1, which is necessary for normal heart function, and also nervous system and digestion. Thanks to the presence of vitamin PP, the amount of cholesterol in the blood decreases, and it also takes part in the distribution of oxygen throughout the body.

Considering the presence of potassium and sodium in large quantities, the water balance is normalized, which in turn has a positive effect on the activity of the heart and kidneys, as well as the nervous system. Anchovies contain phosphorus, which takes part in the regeneration of bone tissue, and it also improves the condition of teeth and bones. Thanks to the calcium content, muscle function improves, and this mineral is also necessary for bone tissue. Fish contains iron, which improves the condition of the blood and the process of hematopoiesis in general. It also contains fluorine, which stimulates the immune system, and iodine, which is necessary for the normal course of metabolic processes.

Anchovy meat contains a large amount of fish oil, which is used in pharmacology and cosmetology.

Use in cooking

Anchovies are popular in cooking in many countries around the world. They are used in fresh, and also at home they can be salted, dried, smoked and pickled. Used for cooking and heat treatment, so anchovies are boiled, fried, baked, deep-fried, etc. Many people like to stuff small carcasses with olives. Such fish can act as a central or additional ingredient in a dish.

Each country has its own ways of using anchovies, for example, in Italy it is used as a topping on pizza, and in Spain it is boiled, fried and used in various sauces. In France, anchovies are used as a filling for pies. Also, based on this fish, snacks, pastes for sandwiches are made, and they are also added to salads, etc. It is also worth mentioning that anchovies are an indispensable ingredient in the popular and original Worcestershire sauce.

Ways to cook anchovies

There are many ways to prepare anchovies. This is due to high nutritional value product and taste qualities the meat of this fish. Cooks have found many ways to prepare anchovies and have created large number original dishes who have found their admirers in every corner globe. IN grocery stores Nowadays, you can easily purchase various canned food and pickles made from this unique-tasting fish.

Due to the fact that in our regions anchovies are easy to purchase chilled or frozen, we offer you several cooking methods delicious preparations of them at home. For convenience, the options are summarized in subparagraphs. There is also additional information in the video below.

Preserving

Canning anchovies is a simple process, but a little time-consuming. Although, if you get used to it, you can do it faster.

You will need fresh anchovies, preferably not previously frozen or, in extreme cases, frozen in a gentle way. In industrial conditions, high-quality canned food from any fish is prepared directly at the place of catch, and, by the way, this is exactly what you should always pay attention to when choosing finished products.

You will also need the following components:

coarse salt in any quantity;
vegetable deodorized oil (sunflower or olive) - as much as will fit into a jar filled with fish.

Now prepare a sterile container of suitable size and a lid for it, and also put on rubber gloves so that your hands are not saturated with the aroma of this oily fish.

After that, let's move on to the cooking process itself. Rinse the fish and dry on paper towels. Then thoroughly gut the insides of the anchovies, and remove the heads and skeletons along with them. Place a generous handful of dry salt on the bottom of the jar, and place a layer of prepared fillet on top. Alternate layers until the jar is full. Do not forget that, as with any canned food prepared by dry salting, there should be salt on top. Now cover the jar with a lid and place the vessel in the refrigerator for a couple of days. After the time has passed, carefully pour the anchovies into a deep bowl and rinse them thoroughly under pressure cold water. This way you can remove the remaining scales and clean up the remaining salt. Place the fish again on disposable towels and dry. While the fish is drying, rinse and sterilize the jar, and then cool it to room temperature. Place the dried fillets tightly in a bowl and fill with vegetable oil. After this, cover the jar with a lid and place this preparation in the refrigerator. Store canned fish there. Under proper conditions, such preparation will be suitable for food for a month.

The steps described above allow you to prepare amazingly tasty fish, which will be an excellent component of sandwiches and salads. But for making pizza and various anchovy-based sauces, fish is preserved a little differently. This method will be discussed in the subsection on salting anchovies at home.

Salting

Pickling anchovies is no more difficult than preparing them in a marinade according to the recipe above. This will be the so-called wet or regular fish salting. Of the listed ingredients, in addition to the fresh anchovies themselves, for such salting you only need salt and water. The salting time will also be similar to the marinating time.

But tastier, and also faster and more interesting, you can prepare amazing fish using the dry salting method. The ingredients are taken optionally, as they say, by eye, but experience has shown that the amount of salt is usually half the weight of the fish itself. The cooking time for salted anchovies will be only 24 hours (for medium salted fish).

So, into a deep, clean and dry container (pan or plastic container with a lid) add a layer of coarse salt, and if desired, add a bay leaf broken into small pieces. In a separate bowl, cook the anchovies. To do this, generously sprinkle them with coarse salt and mix. The fish does not need to be infused, so we move on to the next stage of preparation. Place the anchovies nicely in a container and cover the latter with a lid. Place in the refrigerator and wait for the specified time. Before serving, wash the fish, dry it on disposable towels and gut it. We definitely tear off the fish’s head, but removing the ridge is at the discretion of the owner. When serving, pour over aromatic vegetable oil and lemon juice, and also add onions.

Anchovies of this salting go well with boiled potatoes and vegetable pickles.

For cooking gourmet dishes Mediterranean cuisine uses salted anchovies prepared using a special method.

The process is similar to the dry salting described above, but differs in some respects.

We gut the fish and remove the heads and spines. We do not remove the skin.
We pour the carcasses a large number salt and compact well. Sprinkle salt on top of the fish and apply pressure.
Periodically add salt, or rather, replace its top layer if it is too wet.
Salting lasts for at least two months at room temperature. After this time, the jar of anchovies can be covered with a nylon lid or parchment.
You can store salted, and in fact, canned anchovies for as long as calendar year, but previously frozen raw materials cannot be used to prepare the product.

Fish prepared in this way is used in cooking without washing. Instead of used fish, add dry salt and apply pressure again.

Let's marinate

We will marinate anchovies in the following way. Place the fish washed in running water in a colander and allow the water to drain. Then place the uneviscerated anchovies in a metal bowl or saucepan with a lid of a suitable size.

We will prepare separately:

table vinegar 9% –100 ml;

coarse table or sea salt, suitable for human consumption – 3 tablespoons;

granulated sugar – 2 tablespoons;
spices for marinating fish - arbitrary amount;
onions – 2-3 heads;
cold water – 2 glasses;
vegetable oil – 50 ml.

Peel the onion and cut into rings, and then place in a container with the fish. Dissolve salt and sugar in water, add vinegar there. Pour oil over the fish and sprinkle with spices, then mix well. If the latter contains salt, then adjust its amount in the marinade. In this case, you can pour the seasonings directly into the marinade and taste the liquid. Pour the marinade over the fish, cover the container with a lid and put it in the refrigerator for three days. If you wish, you can put pressure on top of the fish. Gut the finished fish and serve with pickled onions. The maximum time anchovies spend in the filling should not exceed five days. The proportions of ingredients in the recipe are based on one kilogram of raw anchovies.

Drying

Drying anchovies, like any other fish, is interesting. This is not very difficult to do, and an electric dehydrator for vegetables and herbs or an oven with an air convection function will be a good assistant in this matter.

The first place to start the process of drying anchovies is preparing the fish itself. As with preparing any other dish, best choice will be freshly caught fish. If this is not possible and only frozen seafood products are available, then be sure to allow the fish to defrost on its own. To do this, place the product in the refrigerator and cover the container with film. After the time has passed, drain the released liquid and place the fish in a colander.

Raw fish, of course, is not dried, so the next stage of work will be salting. The process is completely similar to the method described for dry salting: the fish must be generously sprinkled with a large amount of coarse table salt, and then, carefully straightening the carcasses, placed in a deep vessel of large volume. If you wish, you can place the cargo. This will speed up the salting process and also draw moisture out of the anchovies as quickly as possible. The only thing that I would like to draw the attention of culinary experts is that the time for salting fish with this method of preparing for future use should be at least three days.

We begin the drying process by preparing the carcasses. Everything here is up to the housewives' choice. Whether to dry fish with heads or cut into fillets depends on gastronomic wishes. Anyway prerequisite is to remove the entrails. This must be done carefully so as not to damage the bile. If this does happen, then try to remove it from the fish as best as possible using paper napkins.

Place the finished carcasses or fillets on drying trays or oven racks. Good decision There will be pre-lined parchment paper, which will absorb fat and aroma during drying, and will also allow the finished fish to maintain its shape.

Now it's a matter of small things. Select drying mode and wait. Drive all curious people away, otherwise the anchovy will be eaten as soon as it begins to dry. Optimal mode for drying fish like this:

2 hours at a temperature of 45-50 degrees Celsius;
3 hours at 70 degrees Celsius;
an hour and a half again at around 50 degrees Celsius.

The total cooking time of the product depends on the size of the raw material and its fat content, but in general it takes no more than seven hours. Cool the finished fish before eating, keeping it away from insects. Store product tightly packed in paper bags in a cool place, but not in the refrigerator.

If you don’t have a dryer or a “smart” oven in your kitchen, then you can perform the operation of drying the anchovy in a well-known and proven way. Hang the gutted fish, strung on thread or fishing line, in a shaded, hot place. It is most convenient to pierce the carcasses through the eye.

Fish dried in this way will be ready in three to four days. In order not to keep flies away from it all this time, cover the “fish beads” with gauze soaked in table vinegar or mint tincture.

The process of drying anchovies, like any other fish, involves complete dehydration of the carcasses and lasts a little longer than drying, which will be discussed in the subsection below.

Vyalim

Drying anchovies is just as interesting as drying them. The process differs from the one described above quite a bit. First of all, the cooking time.

When air-driing anchovies, the product will be ready to eat in two to three days. When drying fish in a dryer or oven, you should reduce the drying time by half or reduce the heating temperature throughout the entire process to 45 degrees Celsius.

What can be substituted at home?

“What can replace anchovies at home?” - those housewives who are interested in recipes for preparing dishes will ask, the recipes of which indicate this incomparable delicious fish. Unfortunately, there is no complete replacement for anchovies, especially when cooking delicious recipes, for example, sauces for spaghetti or a popular salad called “Nicoise”. Such density of meat is not inherent in any fish of small breeds.

Although the ingenuity of our hostesses is worth envying! Sometimes you can hear that the product is replaced with salted saury fillet or Vietnamese (Thai) fish sauce, similar in taste to anchovies. But these replacements are not comparable to the real taste of fish.

Harm to anchovy fish and contraindications

Anchovies can be harmful to people with individual intolerance to the product. There are no other contraindications to eating fresh fish. It is not recommended to consume salted anchovies in large quantities, since useful properties There is practically none in them, and salt also has the ability to retain liquid.

Site materials - http://www.arborio.ru/2010/09/09/anchousy/

“What are anchovies?” - this is roughly the question some housewife asks herself when she comes across an unfamiliar ingredient in a recipe. Indeed, the word seems to have been heard, but not everyone is familiar with the product itself. In fact, anchovies are a fish that goes by another name that is much more recognizable to Russian ears - anchovy. Not a very distant relative of the herring, the anchovy is small in stature - no more than 20 centimeters from head to tail, it would seem, why bother with a garden? But this fish is notable for the fact that, unlike its larger marine counterparts, anchovy is usually used as a seasoning.

By itself, having a rather unpretentious taste, after salting the anchovy is literally transformed - the sharp, piquant, and at the same time recognizable aroma that anchovies give to dishes has made them a favorite ingredient in many cuisines. Thus, anchovies are used in the preparation of sauces - from the most ancient Garum sauce to the more modern Worcestershire sauce, added to salads (some in Caesar, but it is good without anchovies, which are more appropriate in other salads, say, Niçoise ), baked goods, appetizers and main courses. Probably everyone has seen olives with the addition of anchovies - these are sold in supermarkets next to regular ones. But for some reason the anchovies themselves are sold less often.

This raises a logical question - where to buy anchovies, and is it possible to replace them with something? For example, the ever-memorable Mrs. Chekalova proposed replacing them with herring, believing this replacement to be accessible to all residents of the middle zone. This is so, but anchovies, as we have already found out, owe their taste not mainly to their relationship with herring, but to a special salting method, so it is unlikely that such a replacement, or rather, substitution, will have any culinary meaning. Therefore, we go to a large supermarket - although not in every one, but in some places you can get hold of a treasured jar of anchovies, which are sold in oil or salt. Another option is grocery stores that are attached to restaurants: if you have an Italian restaurant in mind with such a store, they will probably have anchovies there, and at a price affordable for ordinary mortals.

Finally - direct purchases (not to be confused with direct sales, it’s the other way around!). Recently I was reprimanded that no one would run around in search of a single ingredient, but there is no need to run around - just find out where these anchovies are, say, in a restaurant, check with them for the supplier’s contacts, contact and... in general, you understand, the language will take you to Kyiv, but there is also the Internet.

In a word, anchovy is not an overseas delicacy, but just another ingredient that will make your table more interesting, varied and healthy. Don't be afraid to use anchovies in your everyday cooking, and stay healthy.

Anchovies (deviating from the recipe).

- 500 g small anchovy (anchovy),
- 3-4 tbsp plain table salt (even better large sea),
- 1-2 cloves of garlic (optional without it),
- 100-150 ml of good olive oil.

Gut the fish well, wash it, remove the heads and separate the fillets from the bones. Place in a cup, sprinkle with salt and let stand for 2-4 hours at room temperature. After this, rinse well in running water and dry paper towel. Connect olive oil with crushed garlic and a pinch of red pepper. Transfer the anchovy into a jar, add oil and then store in the refrigerator. After just a couple of hours, you can eat the fish. I don’t know how long you can store it in the refrigerator, mine lasted a week. Very tasty with boiled potatoes.

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In the Russian culinary tradition, anchovies are somehow unlucky. Sometimes they are considered some unknown exotic delicacy and are pronounced with aspiration and a feeling of touching the realms of haute cuisine. On the contrary, they are listed in the same row as sprat.
To be fair, we note that the anchovy is somewhat related to the notorious sprat: both are members of the Herring order. But the families are already diverging: the sprat is Herring, and the anchovy, oddly enough, is Anchovy.

Here is the statement “anchovy is just anchovy!” is already closer to the truth. Hamsa is the name given to one of the European types of anchovies. And there are also Japanese, Caspian, Australian, Californian, Peruvian, Argentinean and, finally, silver. It is important to remember that it is also impossible to replace anchovy with domestically produced anchovy - the salting technology and the requirements for the quality of fish are completely different. And if finely chopped salted anchovy (lo and behold!) almost completely dissolves in olive oil, giving it a noble piquant taste, then this trick cannot be pulled off either with native anchovy, much less sprat.

But let’s leave these taxonomic subtleties and better mentally transport ourselves to some Mediterranean shore. For example, to the French town of Collioure in the Gulf of Lion, where anchovies have been harvested since the Middle Ages, or even earlier. Salting technologies have changed little over time past centuries, and it’s not necessary: anchovy - it calls for simplicity. First, the fish is rolled in coarse salt and placed in huge wooden barrels, where it languishes “in its own juice” for two weeks. Then she is gutted and decapitated. By the way, manually. They are sorted by size and put into barrels again - but different ones and carefully: in even layers, each sprinkling with salt. She lives like this for another three months. At the final stage, the paths of the anchovies diverge: some will become simple salted fish in jars or boxes, and others will become anchovy fillets in oil. Or anchovy marinated in dry white wine.

By the way, before eating, salted anchovies are sometimes worth soaking for 10-20 minutes in water or milk to remove excess salt.

We need all this background so that we are not afraid of the anchovy and understand what exactly we are eating. It’s really absurd to be afraid of an anchovy: this fish is small, it grows to a maximum of twenty centimeters, and only if you’re lucky. Its standard “can” size is 7-8 centimeters.
But this is exactly the case when “small but big”: this silvery crumb had a very significant influence on European cuisine. Sauces, pastes and tapenades; pizzas and pies; stuffed poultry and grilled fish; salads, cold appetizers and even fondue - wherever this fish has been.

Silver classic

Despite the countless variety of dishes containing anchovies, when you mention this fish, three things first come to mind: tapenade (or tapenade), Worcestershire sauce and garum sauce. Three giants of three very different cuisines: Provençal (and eventually the entire western Mediterranean), English and ancient Roman.

Garum - an ancient Roman sauce made from fermented anchovies (and sometimes shellfish), vinegar, olive oil and salt - is interesting to us more from a historical point of view. At least because the huge stone baths in which the Romans kept garum can no longer be found during the day with a fire. I would like to add: and because in our civilized times the idea of fermenting fish may not seem attractive, even the Swedes and Icelanders seem to have stopped eating aged shark liver. But we won’t add it because it’s not true: firstly, traditional Chinese or Vietnamese fish sauces are made almost exactly the same as garum. Secondly, the famous Worcestershire sauce, which appeared in more than civilized England in more than cultured Victorian times, is based on nothing more than fermented anchovy paste.

We, of course, will not make Worcestershire sauce at home (at least because we will have nowhere to live after this), but it is still necessary for an educated person to know its composition.
The list of ingredients for Worcestershire sauce is almost as impressive as Homer's list of ships. But if the second one is read traditionally “to the middle,” then we recommend reading the first one in full.

So, here we go: fermented anchovy paste, tomato paste, walnut extract, champignon extract-decoction, tamarind, dessert wine, lemon, horseradish, celery, meat extract, aspic, malt vinegar, water, salt, burnt sugar, tarragon vinegar tincture, ginger, bay leaf, nutmeg, ground black pepper, curry powder, chili pepper, allspice. There are also different versions: with shallots, onions, garlic, asafoetida.

And finally, tapenade, or as it is called in Provence, “poor man’s caviar.” And how can one not remember the famous “overseas caviar, squash”: after all, what is practically “pasture” for Provence, for us is quite an overseas exotic. Tapenade has three main ingredients: anchovies, capers (in Provençal - tapeno), olives. They eat this hearty, but at the same time quite light snack, generously spreading it on fresh homemade bread or baguette.

Provencals actively add garlic to tapenade - garlic is generally in use in this region. In addition, they diversify the traditional food with rosemary and basil, canned tuna, sun-dried tomatoes, nuts, mustard, and lemon juice. Add a little strong alcohol to the tapenade: rum, grape vodka, brandy.

Classic Provençal tapenade

Ingredients:
100 g anchovy fillets (in their own juice or simply salted)
250 g pitted black olives (marinated or salted)
100 g capers
2 cloves garlic
100 tuna (in own juice)
2-3 sprigs of basil (preferably purple)
and/or 2-3 sprigs of parsley
150 g olive oil
1 tbsp. l. black rum (or grape vodka)
juice of ½ lemon (optional)
ground black pepper

Preparation:
Grind the anchovies, garlic and herbs in a blender. Not quite a mess, but fine enough. Add all the other ingredients to the blender bowl and blend the whole mixture again until more or less homogeneous.
Important! There is no need to salt the tapenade. Even if you pre-soak the anchovies and use marinated rather than salted olives, most likely the food’s “own” salt will still be enough and you won’t have to add salt.

In the same way, you can make a tapenade mix, in which you combine black olives with green ones. Generally speaking, there is nothing stopping you from making it simply from green ones.

And there is also a Corsican version of tapenade (although it is not called tapenade there): anchovies are ground in a blender along with fresh figs and garlic; This paste is spread on fresh bread lightly sprinkled with olive oil.

What to do with all this goodness? There are options.
You can, like simple Provencals, spread it on fresh bread, take such a sandwich in one hand, a tomato or a good piece of fresh rennet cheese in the other, and eat it slowly, washed down with dry white wine. You can make sandwiches with tapenade, fry them well, pressing them tightly into a dry frying pan, cut into strips and serve with good mozzarella, lettuce and fresh tomatoes. Can be served with fresh vegetables or stuffed with hard-boiled eggs. Or you can make, for example, palmieres au tapenade - layered “ears” with tapenade, sun-dried tomatoes and thyme. You can stuff chicken or “spread” grilled sea bream or tuna... In general, in any case, a good tapenade on the farm will not sit out and go to waste.

Like his “little brother” - anchoad:

Anchoad

Ingredients
100 g salted anchovy fillets
150 g olive oil 2-3 cloves garlic
ground black pepper
1 tbsp. l. wine vinegar

Preparation:
Pound the anchovy fillets and garlic well in a mortar. Lazy people can use a blender, but it’s like with pesto: either speed or results. Add the vinegar and pepper and, whisking with a fork or small whisk, add the olive oil: you should get a thick, smooth paste. You can add a little more mustard without grains.
This pasta is served with raw vegetables, boiled eggs, and toast.

Silver of the North
A well-deserved tribute to this small silver fish is paid not only in the sunny Mediterranean. One of the most famous Swedish dishes, Jonson's Temptation, is also based on anchovies.

Jonson's temptation

Ingredients (in any quantity):
anchovies
potato
onion
homemade sour cream or melted butter
breadcrumbs

Preparation:
Peel the potatoes, cut into small slices, and lightly fry. Cut the onion into strips or half rings, simmer in creamy or vegetable oil. Place on a baking sheet in layers: potatoes - onions - anchovies. It is better to lightly spray each layer with oil or grease with sour cream. Repeat layers. Top layer grease well with sour cream, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and place the baking sheet in the oven. Determine the readiness of the dish by the readiness of the potatoes.

They say that in the canonical Swedish version, instead of sour cream - homemade mayonnaise. But, homemade or not, mayonnaise is still an emulsion, and subjecting it to heat treatment is at least pointless, and at most harmful. It’s much better to take good thick sour cream (you can add a little mustard to it). And anchovies will add piquancy to the dish.

There are also a lot of anchovies in the cuisine of the Apennine Peninsula. Since the time of garum, Italian preferences have changed significantly. What can they do here with these silver fish! Here are just a few examples:
- pizza “Sfincini” with anchovies and pecorino;
- pizza “Andrea”: anchovies, onions, garlic, basil, oregano (oregano), tomatoes, black olives;
- hot sauce "Bagna cauda" made from anchovies, garlic and olive oil - served with raw vegetables or with fresh bread;
- Easter lamb with anchovies and rosemary;
- “Calabrian caviar” - an anchoada-like appetizer: anchovies, olive oil, black pepper;
- Trieste afternoon snack: a mixture of anchovy paste with gorgonzola, mascarpone, cream, cumin, mustard and chives;
- Venetian-style poultry (partridges, ducks, guinea fowl) with Peverada sauce (anchovies, baked chicken or goose liver, parsley, garlic, soft Italian salami, lemon, white wine and white wine vinegar);
- Campanian spaghetti with garlic-anchovy sauce “Puttanesca” (anchovies, tomatoes, garlic, butter and olive oil, parsley, pepper)
and much more. For example, pissaladiere, alternative pizza. Initially, this dish is French, but in Italy it has taken root as a native dish. A reverse pizza migration, so to speak.

Ingredients:
For the filling:
10-15 anchovy fillets
1-1.5 kg of onion
3-4 cloves of garlic
a couple of thyme sprigs
10-15 large black olives
1 tsp. Sahara
4 tbsp. l. olive oil
salt, pepper
For the test:
500 g flour
2 packets of baking powder
2 tbsp. l. olive oil
2 tsp. salt
300 ml water

Preparation:
Chop the onion coarsely, garlic finely. Simmer both in a saucepan or deep frying pan over low heat for about 1 hour 20 minutes. About 20 minutes before the end, add thyme, pepper, salt, sugar. At the very end, place the anchovy fillets into the onion.
Sift the flour, mix with salt and baking powder. Add water and oil, knead the dough - it should turn out smooth and elastic. Roll it out, place it on a greased baking sheet and leave to settle in warm place for 1 hour.
Place the filling on the dough and place the olives on top.
Place the pizza in an oven preheated to 220°C for 20 minutes.

Another fine example of the elegant use of anchovies in Italian cuisine is the world famous “Vitello tonnato”, which simply translates as “veal with tuna”. Chefs are still arguing about how to properly prepare veal for this dish. Some say - just cook, and minimalistically: only salt and black pepper, nothing more! The latter insist: bake! And with vegetables, wine, zest - in general, it’s elegant. We offer you the second option:

Ingredients:
700 g veal (ideally tenderloin)
80 ml white wine
1 onion
1 carrot
1 stalk of celery (optional)
1 sprig rosemary
grated zest of 1/2 lemon and 1/2 orange (optional)
olive oil
butter
beef broth
salt

For the sauce:
200 g tuna in oil
4-5 anchovy fillets in oil
2 boiled eggs
10 g capers
lemon juice
olive oil

Preparation:
Heat butter and olive oil in a deep frying pan, add coarsely chopped celery, onion, carrots, add a sprig of rosemary.
Fry the meat in one piece in the same frying pan on all sides until slightly golden brown.
Pour wine, broth into a deep baking dish, add orange and lemon zest. Salt the meat and place in the pan along with the vegetables.
Bake the meat in a preheated oven for 20 minutes at 220°C. Periodically turn it over and pour liquid from the mold.
You can bake the meat the day before or in the morning if you plan to serve it in the evening.
For the sauce, blend the tuna, capers, anchovies and (optional) boiled eggs. Add olive oil and lemon juice, stir. You will turn out beautiful pink color sauce similar in consistency to mayonnaise.
Cut the veal into beautiful thin slices, place 2-3 slices on a large serving plate, brush each with sauce and bend. Before serving, you can decorate with thin feathers green onions, sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.

In general, what can I tell you: the path of the little silver fish is long and varied. From the times of the Caesars to the present day; from Provence to New York, from Spain to Norway; from rustic tapenade to Bloody Mary cocktail. Are you surprised by the latter? But of course, “Mary” without Worcestershire sauce is just vodka with tomato juice, and in Worcestershire sauce they are just anchovies.

What is anchovy product? Judging by the name and price, the guest is important, overseas and delicious.

Many, not knowing about the essence of anchovy, dream of trying it, but at the same time do not suspect that the taste of this product is quite familiar and clearly resembles something, namely anchovy, which, by the way, is its closest relative and local analogue.

General understanding of anchovies

Anchovies are small fish that live in salty external waters, related to herring. Their analogue, anchovy, lives in inland waters. Representatives of the world's oceans are commonly called anchovies, and anchovies are found in the seas, including the Black and Azov seas.

In general, it is believed that anchovy and anchovy are one and the same, however, despite the obvious relationship, the fish still have differences, both externally and in biochemical composition.

Anchovies are more valuable from a nutritional point of view and have much greater benefits for the human body than anchovies and especially sprat.

Depending on their habitat, anchovies and anchovies have taste and external differences. Our most famous type of “anchovy” is the blackback - the famous fatty and very tasty anchovy.

How to recognize anchovies?

A small flat fish, up to 18 cm long, steel gray in color. It has a long, even, elongated body.

It is most often found on sale in salted or pickled form, extremely rarely in ice cream or even more so fresh.

With us you can only buy freshly caught Baltic, Black Sea or Azov anchovy, and if such an opportunity arises you should definitely buy it - the fish is extremely tasty and incredibly healthy.

It has nothing in common with sprat except size, although in markets sprat is offered as an analogue to anchovies. Therefore, be careful when choosing.

If you buy anchovy, it’s very good; if you get sprat, it’s also good, but there is minimal benefit from it, only taste.

1. Anchovy is larger than sprat and anchovy.

2. His head resembles a shark: disproportionately large in relation to the body, a long blunt nose, a huge mouth that opens to the gills, large eyes.

By the way, the size of the mouth is considered the main thing distinctive feature anchovies The corner of the mouth ends much further than the line of the eyes, which is called “to the ears.” The anchovy has the same mouth, but the head is smaller.

Sprat is a reduced exact copy herrings. She has a small head and a small mouth, the corner of which ends level with the line of the eyes.

3. Anchovy scales do not completely disappear after washing; a small part of it remains in the head and tail area. In anchovy and sprat, the scales come off during transportation.

4. One more thing the key difference between anchovy and sprat and anchovy is its fat content. Anchovy has a high fat content, which is why it is extremely useful as a sea fish. Anchovy - medium fat content, sprat - low fat.

5. The body of the fish is straight, muscular, and the sprat has a slightly rounded or “saggy” abdomen.

Among all three varieties, only anchovies are allowed into haute cuisine dishes, and they are used not as fish, but as a kind of seasoning that can “dissolve” in a dish, but at the same time enrich its taste.

Anchovies, as a rule, are sold very salted, this is the technology for their preparation and storage.

Valuable culinary ingredient

Anchovies are part of the cuisines of many peoples around the world. Where they are caught, they are served fresh and fried.

They are exported exclusively dried, pickled, salted and dried.

Anchovies themselves have a fairly bland, neutral taste, due to which they can be used in completely different dishes, as a valuable nutritious original additive.

After salting, they are transformed and take on a literally magical taste.– hot, spicy, piquant, while the most delicate, melting texture of anchovy fillet also undergoes changes, becoming elastic, dense, and palpable.

The most famous dish in the world that cannot be prepared without anchovies is Worcestershire sauce. The Italians make excellent pizza with anchovies, the French make their favorite Niçoise salad, the Spaniards make different variations of paella.

Chemical composition

The chemical composition of anchovies is what makes them a delicacy and an expensive product.

In terms of nutritional value, filleted anchovies compete with the best meat. They also contain a lot of valuable, highly digestible protein. There are no carbohydrates at all.

There are a lot of rare lipids and at the same time few calories - only 130 kilocalories per 100 grams.

In addition, as with all sea fish, there are many vitamins and minerals, including:
all B vitamins;
vitamin A, K, E, D4
phosphorus;
zinc;
selenium;
magnesium;
iodine;
iron, copper, manganese and many others.

Fresh and dried anchovies contain a lot of Omega 3, without which the proper functioning of the human immune system is impossible.

Anchovies - benefits

Regular consumption of anchovies is beneficial for both adults and children. The greatest value is fresh or dried fish, but it is very difficult to acquire.

1. Improve vision. Anchovies contain a lot of vitamin A, which is responsible for visual acuity, prevents cataracts, dystrophy and other pathologies.

2. Supports heart health.

3. In addition to the heart, anchovies improve the condition of the entire vascular system.

4. They are an aphrodisiac, increase potency and libido.

5. Proteins contained in anchovies stimulate cellular metabolism and promote rapid tissue regeneration.

6. Thanks a large number fat and high in nutritional value but low in calories, anchovies are an ideal food for those struggling with overweight, they promote weight loss.

7. Fatty acids improve the condition of skin and hair. With regular consumption of anchovies, the skin becomes clean, elastic, smooth and young, the hair is healthy and shiny.

8. Unlike others sea fish, anchovies practically do not accumulate toxins, since they live no more than 4 years.

9. Phosphorus, calcium, vitamin D and others support healthy bones and teeth, prevent fragility and osteoporosis.

10. Magnesium and zinc are useful for the normal functioning of the nervous system.

11. Indispensable for the thyroid gland.