*When I was first married I made my family's Italian salad almost every night which included anchovies. After about a month of marriage, the sweet HG said he didn't like anchovies. I grew up with anchovies and thought that was blasphemous. So I put anchovy paste in the salads. He said some weeks later, "funny, I know there aren't any anchovies in this salad but I can still taste them." He finally adapted to them.

My daughter on the other hand never did and wouldn't even ride in the same car with an anchovy pizza.

Green Goddess

1 cup good mayonnaise
1 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (6 to 7 scallions)
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
2 teaspoons anchovy paste
2 teaspoons kosher salt (I skipped)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup sour cream
3 heads Bibb lettuce
2 to 3 tomatoes

Place the mayonnaise, scallions, basil, lemon juice, garlic, anchovy paste, salt and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth.

Add the sour cream and process just until blended. (If not using immediately, refrigerate the dressing until ready to serve.)
Cut each head of lettuce into quarters, remove some of the cores, and arrange on 6 salad plates.

Cut the tomatoes into wedges and add to the plates.

Pour on the dressing and serve.

/tricia

Cheryl

Forgive the length of these posts, but here are two recipes where you wouldn't expect anchovies but they make a stellar contribution. I make the pot roast at least once a month, and do the turkey dish at least once in the summer.

* * *

Pressure Cooker Chuck Pot Roast

In this pot roast variation, anchovies are used to provide a savory kick. A two ounce can of anchovies works well with a pot roast of 3 or 4 pounds; if you're making a smaller 2 pound pot roast, you may wish to use just a half a can of anchovies. What to do with the leftover half can of anchovies? If you have a pet, toss those extra anchovies on the pet food, along with any oil from the can. Our dog goes crazy for anchovies. Smelly, salty, strong--what's not to like? Don't worry, the anchovies dissolve in the broth of this dish, which doesn't taste at all fishy.

Chuck roast, 3 to 4 pounds
2 or 3 onions, chopped fine
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 to 6 ribs of celery, chopped fine
One 8 oz. package of mushrooms, trimmed and quartered--more if desired
One can of low sodium chicken broth (12-14 oz)
Two bay leaves
Black pepper
One 2 ounce can of anchovies, drained and chopped

First, make the mirepoix: chop the onions, carrots and celery. Put half of it in the bottom of the pressure cooker along with half the mushrooms, one bay leaf and the can of chicken broth. Give a generous grinding of black pepper to what's in the cooker.

Coarsely chop the anchovies. Put about half of the chopped anchovies in the pressure cooker and swirl to mix with the other ingredients.

Place the meat on top of the ingredients in the cooker. Smear the remaining chopped anchovies on the surface of the meat, place a bay leaf on the meat, give another generous grinding of black pepper, then place on top of the meat the remaining mirepoix and mushrooms.

Attach the pressure lid. Bring up to high pressure, then cut back the heat to just maintain high pressure. Cook on high pressure about 50 minutes for a 3 pound roast, 60 minutes for a 4 pounder. When the time has elapsed, turn off the heat and allow the pressure to come down by itself (that is, don't vent the cooker or place it in the sink and run cold water over it). That could take 15 minutes. You may wish to cook up something to catch the juices--rice, couscous, noodles--during this time.

Once the pressure is down, remove the roast to a platter. Allow it to rest a bit before slicing it. As you slice it, put the slices back in the pot liquid to keep them moist. Serve the slices with a generous scoop of the pot vegetables and liquid.

Leftover slices can be made into great hot roast beef sandwiches. Use good crusty French bread, toasted.

* * * *

There's a classic European dish of roasted veal breast in tuna sauce, vitello tonnato. Julia Child adapted it for poached turkey breast instead of veal. (It's much cheaper and more tender, and it works very well.) This recipe is ideal for hot weather, especially for a luncheon for several people. You make the entire recipe a day or two in advance: the day of the lunch, all you have to do is take the dish out of the fridge and, if desired, decorate it a bit. You can serve this dish with a salad, or make sandwiches with it, or just eat it plain. Delicious. If you don't like capers, leave them out; it'll still taste great.

I'm reproducing the recipe exactly as Julia has it, but I would note that when I made it I found that the Dijon mustard tended to overpower the other ingredients; even though she calls for 2 to 3 tablespoons, I'd start with only 1 tablespoon and add a little more if needed. (I know it takes chutzpah to overrule Julia, but there you have it.) While it calls for poached turkey breast (and I include her directions for poaching a turkey breast) if you just want to try out the sauce, you can 'cheat' and go to the deli and get several slices of precooked turkey breast and use that. (I've done that ; works great, although it ends up costing about three times as much as poaching a turkey breast on your own.) She makes the point that you don't serve it as sliced turkey with a sauce on the side; you need to smear each slice with the sauce and let the slices absorb the flavors for a day or two.

You can make the sauce in either a blender or a food processor. If you have a food processor, though, the sauce is extremely easy to make. In fact, my Cuisinart has a push-tube with a hole in it that is designed to drip oil at just the right speed for emulsifying with the other ingredients.

Tacchino Tonnato from Julia Child's The Way to Cook
(Cold Sliced turkey breast in tuna and anchovy sauce) For 8 or more servings

1 - 7 oz tin (1 cup) tuna packed in water, drained
1 - 2oz tin of flat fillets of anchovies packed in olive oil, drained
One-fourth cup capers, squeezed dry
The grated peel of one half lemon
2 to 3 tbsp Dijon-type prepared mustard (you may wish to start with just one and add more if needed)
1 large clove of garlic, pureed, then mashed to a very fine paste with one-fourth tsp salt
4 egg yolks
1 to 1 1/2 cups or more virgin olive oil
Drops of lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground white pepper

One 6-pound poached turkey breast (recipe follows this one) or 16 to 20 generous but thin slices of cooked turkey breast
Decorations: 1/3 cup capers, drained; coarsely chopped parsley; lemon wedges

The sauce. Puree the tuna, anchovies, capers, lemon peel, mustard and garlic paste in the machine, then add the egg yolks and puree several seconds, until the mixture has thickened. Finally, with the motor running, start adding the oil in a very thin stream of droplets, and continue without pause until three-fourths of a cup of oil has gone in and the sauce has thickened into a heavy cream. It will not be as thick as mayonnaise, but should hold itself in creamy suspension. Process in one-half cup more of oil, depending on how thick a sauce you wish to have. Season carefully to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper; the sauce should have character, but should not be too strong in taste or it will kill off the turkey.

Slicing the turkey. If you are using a poached turkey breast, discard the skin. Carefully remove in one piece the whole side of each breast from the carcass. Cut the meat at a slant crosswise (across the grain) into elegant slices less than 1/8 inch thick.

Assembling. Spoon a layer of sauce in the bottom of a serving platter, and arrange the turkey on top, spreading each slice with a coating of sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours before serving.

Serving. Let the platter sit at room temperature for 20 minutes to take off the chill. Meanwhile sprinkle on the capers and parsley, and decorate with lemon wedges.

Poached Turkey Breast

Set up a 6-pound bone-in breast of turkey breast up in a kettle just large enough to hold it comfortably, surround it with 1 cup each of chopped carrots, onions and celery, and a large herb bouquet. Pour in 2 cups of chicken broth, 1 cup of dry white French vermouth or dry white wine, and enough water to cover the breast by 1/2 inch. Bring to the simmer on top of the stove; skim off the gray scum, which will continue to rise for several minutes. Salt lightly, then cover the pot loosely and maintain at the bare simmer for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, adding a little boiling water if the liquid evaporates to expose the turkey. It's done when a meat thermometer, pushed in to the thickest part of the meat near the shoulder (but not touching bone) reads 162 to 165 F. Let the turkey cool in its broth for at least 30 minutes.

Refrigerate uncovered; when chilled, remove the turkey to a covered container.

CC's Green Goddess Dressing

1/2 cup loosely packed parsley sprigs, washed and patted very dry on paper toweling
1/2 cup loosely packed tarragon leaves, washed and patted very dry on paper toweling
1/4 cup loosely packed chives (The easiest way to measure is to snip them into 1-inch lengths directly into the measuring cup.)
1 scallion, washed, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 small garlic clove, peeled
4 anchovy fillets, rinsed and well drained
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 to 4 grindings of black pepper

Put all ingredients into a food processor fitted with the metal chopping blade. Turn the motor on and let run steadily for about 1 minute, or until dressing is uniformly creamy and smooth. Pour into a jar, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Use to dress crisp green salads.

Lars

I got that Italian cookbook from the library. I can't remember the author but you know her! She makes the butter pasta sauce which is to die for. Anyway she said to always use the ones from the tin, as the paste is nowhere near the flavour or quality. I like the paste for convenience and have never bought the real thing.

I get them at the Fresh Market but Amazon is my backup.

Lars, try tarragon on lightly steamed/sauteed in butter green beans. Perfect!

My spouse loves anchovies so much, his preferred salad dressing is just a tin of anchovies whizzed smooth in the blender with 1 cup of EVOO and a garlic clove. A sprinkle of fresh cracked black pepper and he's in heaven. I freeze it in small containers as it's just for him. I enjoy anchovies and often cook with them, but he's the one with the love affair with salty little fishies.

Must be the most harmless two-timing ever, LOL!

I use the paste alot more than the tinned/jarred anchovies. Love it in homemade salad dressings!

Another favourite is pissaladiere. Make a pizza base, top with caremalised onions, olives and anchovies. Heaven.

I like to buy anchovies in jars with the anchovies wrapped around capers, but then I love capers. I also keep a tube of anchovy paste for when I'm out of the jarred anchovies. I can't imagine not having them on hand, as they are essential for the Caesar dressing and I also like them on pizza and in puttanesca.

Lars

Good slug EVOO in saucepan/frypan, heat to medium, then gently fry couple of minced garlic cloves, couple of minced hot chillies, and couple of anchovies. Cook 2 minutes until anchovies dissolve, add squirt of lemon juice, then tip the lot over a bowl of cooked pasta and mix through to coat. I also add a few chopped capers and ground black pepper at the end. Takes 5 minutes and delicious!

Uses are those listed above, including the Klopse but also for Schnitzle. Always served with lemon and anchovies.

And when a salt craving hits, I am sucking on that tube.

Bagna Cauda
A tasty dip for raw vegetables. Perfect for a simple dinner party or for a large gathering at a cocktail party. Bagna cauda literally means "hot sauce". It comes from the Piedmont region and the dip is best kept warm over a small food warmer or spirit flame in a flameproof bowl or dish.

Traditionally, vegetables such as artichoke bottoms and/or hearts, radishes, cauliflower, fennel, spring onions, cucumbers, yellow, red, and green bell peppers, mushrooms, celery, cabbage, carrots and cooked asparagus are cut into strips.

This versatile sauce can also be used to dress fried filet of sole, baked halibut and so on. Any leftover sauce can be used as a topping for cooked cauliflower or broccoli.

Thanks, everyone.

Jim

We have the small jars and we have a tube of paste, and seem to use them interchangeably.

Annie

Jim

Shhhh....anchovies are my secret flavor weapon. If you put a fillet into some hot oil, it will dissolve. I do this in beef dishes all the time, and it makes beef taste "beefier", but nobody would ever guess that there's an anchovy in there! It adds wonderful depth to a beef stew, beef braise, etc. The family knows my beef tastes better, but they don't know why and I'm not telling. DH and DS would be fine with it, but DD, maybe not so much and I'm not taking any chances.

Cj

Goop

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons anchovy paste
3 tablespoons grated onion
1 pinch garlic powder

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and milk until creamy. Add more milk for a thinner dip. Using a fork, whip the anchovy paste, onion, and garlic powder into the mixture. Cover and refrigerate this dip at least one hour before serving � this is important so that flavors have an opportunity to blend.

Note: you can add more or less of the anchovy paste and onion to suit your tastes. If you like a thinner dip, add a little more milk.

Cooks Illustrated tested three methods to store anchovies for two weeks: Cover with EVOO and refrigerate in an airtight container, cover with kosher salt and refrigerate in an airtight container, and curl up, freeze and put in a ziploc bag and return to the freezer. Salted were bad (the necessary rinsing mellowed their flavor), those in EVOO were good but messy to deal with, so freezer won. Seems to me the freezer method would add some lifetime, too.

When I can find them, I buy jars of anchovies preserved in salt. They seem to keep a while. Good for when you only need one or two.

I also buy just the regular small flat can. Usually when I make Moe his favourite Cesar Salad. What doesn't get used gets tossed. Might as well throw them out immediately, than a few weeks later when I find them in the back of the fridge.

Ann

Eileen

For my family though? I'd give them a dish with anchovies, I know none of them are allergic and it's safe, so I just wouldn't think about telling them, probably.

Annie

Cj