ANCHOVIES, the other tasty baitfish

Since I started the theme of "low on the food chain" I might as well throw in a plug for anchovies, the other species at the foundation of the fishy part of the temperate-latitude marine food pyramid. Anchovies (as well as sardines, the subject of my previous post) are eaten by the hundreds by mackerel, small jacks, sauries and halfbeaks, who are in turn eaten by larger predators like tuna, large jacks, billfish, sharks, dolphins and seals. But it doesn't stop there. Seabirds of all types, middle-sized fish, squids, and even the big predators will eat anchovies, too. Seems like anything big enough to successfully consume anchovies will eat them happily, often in preference to any other kind of forage, and it's hard to avoid attributing this to the anchovy's wonderful flavor.

Not many people have the same appreciation for anchovies. The two complaints that I can somewhat understand—though I do not agree—are that they are too "fishy," and that they are too small and therefore too much work to prepare. When someone describes a fish's flavor as "fishy," it means usually one of two things. First, it could mean that the fish is less than fresh and thus the "extra aromatics" are from the decay of the flesh as in, "This halibut was kind of fishy." Used in this sense, "fishy" is just a euphemism for "rotten." Halibut is about the blandest (oops, did I say that? I meant "most delicate") fish in the ocean, and if it smells funky it's probably well past its prime.

The other kind of "fishy" could apply to even the freshest fish if it just happens to be a strong-flavored beast by nature, and despite their miniscule size anchovies are in this category. A person with a strong preference for cod over bluefish is probably someone for whom anchovies won't be of much appeal.

A couple of exceptions to this anchovy-aversion are the Italians and the Japanese, and glory be—this sounds exactly like our household! Here's the menu for our light mid-week dinner: marinated anchovies, anchovies with lemon, pizza-focaccia, avocado and tomatoes. A big-ass, oak-flavored California Chardonnay is a great match for this meal. Here's a pic—note the italo-japanese presentation.



Anchovies are small and some work to prepare, but whether this is "too much" work is a matter of opinion. There are different methods for cleaning and deboning. I like to head/gut/scale and salt immediately after getting the little guys home, and then butterflying the next day. A few quick, strategic cuts with a sharp knife and then the rest of the work is done with my fingers. With a little practice, cleaning and boning a bagful of fresh anchovies goes at about the same pace as other labor-intensive food tasks, such as peeling small potatoes, roasting and cleaning green chiles, or removing the skins from fresh favas.

Once I have a big pile of anchovies neatly butterflied (no head, guts, scales or central bones), the rest is easy. Anchovies with lemon (acciughe al limone) means layering the fishies skin side down with lemon peel and then covering it all with lemon juice. Marinated anchovies (alici marinate) means doing the same layering without the lemon peel and pouring over a mixture of white wine, white wine vinegar, and olive oil (in approximately equal parts) to cover. Then this sits in the fridge for a day and the fishies are ready to eat. Good stuff!!