People are often daunted when they see anchovies in a recipe. I’ve written a primer to help the anchovy-curious (and perhaps even anchovy-averse) to feel comfortable selecting, buying and using them. Among the types of anchovies I recommend are whole salted anchovies. They keep fresh in the refrigerator for a long time. Using whole salted anchovies is easy. But each time you use them, you must remove the surface salt and clean them. When you
Take 5: Anchovies
At Restaurant du Village, we served a dish called Pasta à la Provençal. (It was our version of the Italian harlot’s classic, Pasta Puttanesca.) We made large vats of the sauce to serve over spaghetti. My favorite step was smelling the anchovies melting into the garlic in that giant pot. I could not resist dragging a slice of bread through that fragrant paste. Anchovies are the character actors that make a dish a hit. The
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Saturday, July 29
Ajo Blanco
When the heat blisters, no one wants to cook. Instead we rely on cold foods especially refreshing soups that require no cooking at all. None is more so than Ajo Blanco, a soup of Spanish origins made from almonds, bread and olive oil. Jump to Recipe Most Spaniards probably know how to make this soup without a recipe. I find that a recipe helps a great deal. I start by selecting the bread and removing
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Anchovy Sticks
Salty, buttery, crunchy with a hint of spice, that’s the way I like a nibble before a meal. These Anchovy Sticks are the kind of light but satisfying snack to offer at dinner or in a picnic basket packed with cheese, salami and fruit. Made with purchased puff pastry and a jar of anchovies, these can be fresh for guests within an hour. The recipe consists of rows of anchovies sandwiched between two layers of
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Pan Bagnat
Pan Bagnat is always something we eat by the shore after a day in the sun – sometimes we do more eating than swimming. A popular sandwich in the south of France, pan bagnat means bathed bread because it swims in a mixture of garlic and olive oil and the juices of ripe summer vegetables. Make these sandwiches on a baguette or large rolls. The bread soaks up the juices and the crisp crust holds
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Thursday, July 20
Garlic Roasted Summer Vegetable Grilled Sandwich
Summer vegetables, brushed with herbs, garlic and olive oil, then oven-roasted until slightly charred with a creamy herb-flavored cheese spread on a homemade bread, now that’s a meal. Garlic Roasted Summer Vegetable Grilled Sandwich is beach food, rainy-day-weather food, make-ahead and a grill later meal too. Look at how luscious and juicy the sandwich is after grilling it in oil and butter in a skillet on the stove. (The small dish in the background contains
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"Let no man fancy he knows how to dine Till he has learnt how taste and taste combine."
-Horace, Satires, 2.4They're here!
