Oh yes, I said it. Anchovies! And any other yummy, cold-water, oily fish too! Like sardines or herrings! Oh now, forget that thought of crusty little pieces of brown, bony, stink on a pizza! I am talking about plump, juicy, fleshy, white sardines that you can get on any good Spanish tapas plate called “boquerones” or “anchoas”. They are super high in Omega-3’s, and are lightly cured in salt and vinegar, and packed in olive oil, so they last about a month refrigerated once you open them. I dare say they won’t need to make it that long though.

They are filleted and make the perfect snack, or ingredient for salad dressing. Just stay with me here.Yes I know some of you out there love your brown anchovies in a can, more power to you. With those I prefer to use them as an ingredient, ground to a paste, and not as a snack food. If you like them, eat them! Today, however,  I want to focus on the small, oily, fatty, little fishies that frequent the Mediterranean diet. We are, after all, modeling our diets to the Mediterranean one, and what better than little, flavorful fish? These are becoming trendy and it’s likely you have had them in any restaurant that serves Tapas, or if you have traveled to Spain or the Mediterranean. They aren’t difficult to make at home, and require a minimum prep time of 45 minutes to 1 hour. You can get frozen fillets but I recommend fresh. If you ask your fishmonger to gut them perhaps they will, otherwise it is a bit of a job to do but so worth it! Since they are so tiny you just wash them well, clean and gut them by slicing their bellies open head to tail, pinch the heads off with your thumb and fore-finger and pull the back bone out. Watch out for a tiny bone underneath near the head too. Soaking them in either white wine, or Sherry vinegar, lemon juice, and fresh water helps soften any bones you might have missed. For an example for about one kilogram or, 2.2 pounds of Boquerones, you would use:

1 cup Sherry or Wine vinegar

1 large lemon, juiced

1 teaspoon sea salt or Kosher

1/4 cup fresh water

You can layer them in a dish and sprinkle the salt over them before the vinegar and lemon. You can also omit the lemon and just do the vinegar.Once marinated for about 1 hour, or just until they are no longer translucent, but opaque and white, you can drain and rinse them, and pack them in good olive oil to cover completely, overnight, before using. This helps preserve them. Feel free to add garlic cloves, or slices, and chilies or freshly chopped parsley. Then when you want, just pull however many you want out of the oil and serve on a slice of baguette, or on a lavash cracker and have a little wine, maybe some Cerignola, or Lucques olives, a couple almonds. . . you get the picture.

I must admit though, as easy as it is to make them yourself, they are just as good bought from the store, or online from a specialty foods store. Another one of my favorites is pickled Herring. You can find these easily, and they make a great snack food as they are sweet, vinegary, and satisfy any meat cravings you might have. Try either one of these, and if you make the Boquerones at home let me know how they turn out!

Spanish white anchovies or "Boquerones" with Parsley and Olive Oil

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