What to do with anchovy paste?
June 27, 2012 4:56 PM Subscribe
I bought a tube of anchovy paste. I have no idea what to do with it.
I'd prefer specific examples, like "add 1/8 of a teaspoon to a dijon vinaigrette" than "just use it when you want some salt/umami!". I've been trying the latter free-wheeling approach for the last four months and as of today I still have an entire tube of anchovy paste mocking me from the pantry.
I'd prefer specific examples, like "add 1/8 of a teaspoon to a dijon vinaigrette" than "just use it when you want some salt/umami!". I've been trying the latter free-wheeling approach for the last four months and as of today I still have an entire tube of anchovy paste mocking me from the pantry.
Caesar salad dressing is classical. I like it in tarter sauce, I usually put in worcestershire sauce, which Is heavy on anchovies.
Hope that gives you a start.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:01 PM on June 27, 2012
Hope that gives you a start.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:01 PM on June 27, 2012
Add it to pasta sauce at the cooking-onion stage.
Add it to soups for a salty punch of goodness.
Put it on top of eggs - yum!
posted by smoke at 5:04 PM on June 27, 2012 [2 favorites]
Add it to soups for a salty punch of goodness.
Put it on top of eggs - yum!
posted by smoke at 5:04 PM on June 27, 2012 [2 favorites]
Insanely delicious, almost to the point of obsession: Nigella Lawson's Slut's Spaghetti. Use 2 heaping tablespoons of the paste as a substitute for the anchovies in the recipe. Amazing.
posted by iconomy at 5:18 PM on June 27, 2012 [9 favorites]
posted by iconomy at 5:18 PM on June 27, 2012 [9 favorites]
Start with marinera sauce or with just chopped tomatoes, olive oil, and minced fresh garlic; add anchovy paste (instead of chopped fillets), black olives, and capers. You've got puttenesca sauce ("whore's pasta).... best served room temperature.
posted by answergrape at 5:21 PM on June 27, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by answergrape at 5:21 PM on June 27, 2012 [2 favorites]
double-posted! I love the fact that two people thought about whore's pasta at the same time... :)
posted by answergrape at 5:22 PM on June 27, 2012
posted by answergrape at 5:22 PM on June 27, 2012
Use about a half teaspoon instead of a sliced anchovy in fried zucchini blossoms [Warning: link contains egregious Michigan accent]. Or hell, just squirt a dab on some mozzarella cheese cubes before deep-frying them.
posted by Rykey at 5:24 PM on June 27, 2012
posted by Rykey at 5:24 PM on June 27, 2012
You can use it in any recipe that calls for chopped anchovies. Also, try adding a couple teaspoons of paste into tuna and stuffing it into tomato shells.
posted by jcatus at 6:09 PM on June 27, 2012
posted by jcatus at 6:09 PM on June 27, 2012
Spread it thinly on crackers for an intense flavour experience.
posted by scruss at 6:15 PM on June 27, 2012
posted by scruss at 6:15 PM on June 27, 2012
If you like olives, make tapenade.
I also make peanut sauce which sometimes calls for anchovy paste.
I didn't prove recipes because I usually just google for a general idea of ratios and then customize to my tastes.
I also add it to soups.
posted by fromageball at 6:18 PM on June 27, 2012
I also make peanut sauce which sometimes calls for anchovy paste.
I didn't prove recipes because I usually just google for a general idea of ratios and then customize to my tastes.
I also add it to soups.
posted by fromageball at 6:18 PM on June 27, 2012
I add about 1/2 inch to pesto and then toss on hot pasta for a quick dinner.
posted by Nickel Pickle at 6:41 PM on June 27, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Nickel Pickle at 6:41 PM on June 27, 2012 [1 favorite]
Amazing delicious red-wine pasta:
- Cook some spaghetti about 50% of the way in a pot of boiling water, then drain
- Put the spaghetti back in the pot, and pour in a bottle of red wine. Add a bit of water, just until pasta is submerged.
- Meanwhile, sautee lots of sliced garlic in olive oil, and when its softened but not quite golden, add a squeeze of your anchovy paste, and stir it around with the oil and garlic.
- Add your red-wine-flavoured-and-coloured spaghetti to the garlic/oil/anchovy and toss
- Top with grated parmesan
- Eat and show off!!!
posted by Kololo at 6:53 PM on June 27, 2012 [2 favorites]
- Cook some spaghetti about 50% of the way in a pot of boiling water, then drain
- Put the spaghetti back in the pot, and pour in a bottle of red wine. Add a bit of water, just until pasta is submerged.
- Meanwhile, sautee lots of sliced garlic in olive oil, and when its softened but not quite golden, add a squeeze of your anchovy paste, and stir it around with the oil and garlic.
- Add your red-wine-flavoured-and-coloured spaghetti to the garlic/oil/anchovy and toss
- Top with grated parmesan
- Eat and show off!!!
posted by Kololo at 6:53 PM on June 27, 2012 [2 favorites]
Oh yeah: in that second step, you're putting the pot of wine and pasta back on the burner and cooking the pasta the rest of the way!
posted by Kololo at 6:55 PM on June 27, 2012
posted by Kololo at 6:55 PM on June 27, 2012
Best answer: A few days ago I would not have had a clue how to answer this question. But just recently Simply Recipes blog posted this Green Goddess Dressing recipe, I know can advise you.
Disclaimer: I haven't made this yet, but it looks awesome.
posted by purpletangerine at 6:57 PM on June 27, 2012
Disclaimer: I haven't made this yet, but it looks awesome.
posted by purpletangerine at 6:57 PM on June 27, 2012
*know = now
posted by purpletangerine at 6:57 PM on June 27, 2012
posted by purpletangerine at 6:57 PM on June 27, 2012
Best answer: At V-Lounge in Honolulu, we had a cauliflower roasted with spices, olive oil and little anchovies.
Dear God.
So yeah, on cauliflower.
Also, I can't believe no one has mentioned the obvous yet: Smear it on pizza.
posted by SLC Mom at 7:03 PM on June 27, 2012 [2 favorites]
Dear God.
So yeah, on cauliflower.
Also, I can't believe no one has mentioned the obvous yet: Smear it on pizza.
posted by SLC Mom at 7:03 PM on June 27, 2012 [2 favorites]
I use it in this recipe, instead of opening a whole can of anchovies. I use about two teaspoons of anchovy paste. For "vegetable in season," we like cauliflower, which is delicious when sauteed until it starts to brown. It goes great with Trader Joe's lemon pepper pappardelle pasta.
posted by hydrophonic at 7:04 PM on June 27, 2012
posted by hydrophonic at 7:04 PM on June 27, 2012
Anchovy paste is my secret ingredient for pizza sauce, but now the secret is out.
Mix it with tomato paste and pesto, that's your pizza sauce. Go forth and make delicious pizza with whatever dough and toppings you desire!
Use it to get your pizza sauce salty and give it umami all at once.
posted by oceanjesse at 7:48 PM on June 27, 2012 [1 favorite]
Mix it with tomato paste and pesto, that's your pizza sauce. Go forth and make delicious pizza with whatever dough and toppings you desire!
Use it to get your pizza sauce salty and give it umami all at once.
posted by oceanjesse at 7:48 PM on June 27, 2012 [1 favorite]
There's a pasta dish I make which involves anchovy filets sauted in olive oil, then tossed with toasted breadcrumbs and toasted walnuts; that all gets tossed with the pasta. I bet about a half a tablespoon's worth of the paste would do - for one person, use about a quarter cup of olive oil, and heat it to saute some garlic in it; then stir in the anchovy paste, toss in the toasted bread crumbs and toasted walnuts (about a quarter cup of each) and then toss that with the pasta.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:14 PM on June 27, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:14 PM on June 27, 2012 [2 favorites]
Get some really good bread and some proper butter. Toast the bread. Butter the hell out of it — put on way more than you think is necessary. Add a tiny amount of anchovy paste, and spread it in a very thin totally even layer across the top of the butter. Eat it quickly while it's warm.
(I gather this is the same procedure you'd use for eating marmite or vegemite if those counted as food on your home planet. I have no idea about that — but with anchovy paste it's really very good.)
Also, as everyone else is saying, anchovy plays very nicely with garlic and tomato. It's basically the universal all-purpose secret ingredient for improving tomato-based dishes.
posted by nebulawindphone at 9:02 PM on June 27, 2012 [1 favorite]
(I gather this is the same procedure you'd use for eating marmite or vegemite if those counted as food on your home planet. I have no idea about that — but with anchovy paste it's really very good.)
Also, as everyone else is saying, anchovy plays very nicely with garlic and tomato. It's basically the universal all-purpose secret ingredient for improving tomato-based dishes.
posted by nebulawindphone at 9:02 PM on June 27, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: If you could grab a copy of Melissa Clark's Cook This Now (maybe from the library?), man, every.damn.recipe seems to have anchovy in it for the umami flavor. She always says "2 anchovy filets" or whatever, but that's what tube paste is for, to be practical and not leave you with 8 remaining filets going bad in the fridge before you can use them. Beth Hensperger and most ladies with Italian sauce recipes are also no stranger to its powers when used sparingly in stuff like sauces and dressings.
Sorry I cannot be more specific right now, about to go to bed early for a road trip in the morning, but when I come back if I can remember and get it together I will post some specific examples. But like. IIRC, mostly stuff like roasted eggplant with green goddess dressing, where she puts some in the dressing. Roasty and cooked salad-y stuff, and sauces. Sorry that's the vague nono you mentioned...I'll try to post specific recipes in a week.
posted by ifjuly at 9:07 PM on June 27, 2012
Sorry I cannot be more specific right now, about to go to bed early for a road trip in the morning, but when I come back if I can remember and get it together I will post some specific examples. But like. IIRC, mostly stuff like roasted eggplant with green goddess dressing, where she puts some in the dressing. Roasty and cooked salad-y stuff, and sauces. Sorry that's the vague nono you mentioned...I'll try to post specific recipes in a week.
posted by ifjuly at 9:07 PM on June 27, 2012
Fry up some garlic in olive oil, add a dab of anchovy paste and toss with pasta and a bit of salt.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 12:02 AM on June 28, 2012
posted by The Light Fantastic at 12:02 AM on June 28, 2012
Putanesca sauce! (FWIW: I'm not an anchovy fan but can't get enough of putanesca sauce!)
posted by Neekee at 7:40 AM on June 28, 2012
posted by Neekee at 7:40 AM on June 28, 2012
Response by poster: Lovely ideas, all of you! I marked as best answer the ones that I can see myself making regularly when just cooking for little ol' me, but I'll definitely be referring back to this for dinner party recipes.
And I'm really looking forward to adding some to my Bloody Mary recipe. Genius!
Thanks, everyone!
posted by stellaluna at 10:59 AM on June 28, 2012
And I'm really looking forward to adding some to my Bloody Mary recipe. Genius!
Thanks, everyone!
posted by stellaluna at 10:59 AM on June 28, 2012
Came here to say bagna cauda! Someone else beat me to it, but they didn't include a recipe, so here's mine:
Pour 3/4-1 cup olive oil into a small pan, and heat over medium-low heat. Add several peeled cloves of garlic and turn heat to low. Simmer until garlic begins to soften and brown, then stir in 1 tablespoon of anchovy paste. At this point you can blend it all together if you'd like, or serve it as-is. I like to transfer it to a small fondue pot to keep it warm. It's traditionally served with raw veggies, but in my household we just dip bread in it.
posted by rhiannonstone at 11:21 AM on June 28, 2012 [2 favorites]
Pour 3/4-1 cup olive oil into a small pan, and heat over medium-low heat. Add several peeled cloves of garlic and turn heat to low. Simmer until garlic begins to soften and brown, then stir in 1 tablespoon of anchovy paste. At this point you can blend it all together if you'd like, or serve it as-is. I like to transfer it to a small fondue pot to keep it warm. It's traditionally served with raw veggies, but in my household we just dip bread in it.
posted by rhiannonstone at 11:21 AM on June 28, 2012 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Man, it took me months and months to have the times I remembered about this align with the times I had free time to dig stuff up, but here I am again following up on my promise so long ago for recipes from Melissa Clark who loves to put anchovy in things:
-Raw Kale Salad with Anchovy-Date Dressing (so good despite looking so unlikely!)
-Tuscan Kale with Anchovies, Garlic, and Pecorino
-Raw Mustard Greens Salad with Gruyere and Anchovy Croutons
-Spinach Salad with Dried Cranberries and Pine Nuts
-Roasted Eggplant with Basil Green Goddess Dressing
-Pan Roasted Asparagus with Fried Eggs and Anchovy Bread Crumbs
-Shaved Zucchini and Avocado Salad with Green Goddess Dressing
-Roasted Pepper and Celery Leaf Crostini
-Braised Pork Chops with Tomatoes, Anchovies, and Rosemary (and she has a very similar deal with arugula instead of rosemary)
As you can see, Clark believes the umami saltiness of anchovy works well with strong greens and pork.
posted by ifjuly at 1:54 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]
-Raw Kale Salad with Anchovy-Date Dressing (so good despite looking so unlikely!)
-Tuscan Kale with Anchovies, Garlic, and Pecorino
-Raw Mustard Greens Salad with Gruyere and Anchovy Croutons
-Spinach Salad with Dried Cranberries and Pine Nuts
-Roasted Eggplant with Basil Green Goddess Dressing
-Pan Roasted Asparagus with Fried Eggs and Anchovy Bread Crumbs
-Shaved Zucchini and Avocado Salad with Green Goddess Dressing
-Roasted Pepper and Celery Leaf Crostini
-Braised Pork Chops with Tomatoes, Anchovies, and Rosemary (and she has a very similar deal with arugula instead of rosemary)
As you can see, Clark believes the umami saltiness of anchovy works well with strong greens and pork.
posted by ifjuly at 1:54 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]
Here's another thing, grilled pork chops from Cook's Illustrated using honey and anchovy paste to help the chops brown and give them a little savory oomph. Simple, straightforward, but good.
posted by ifjuly at 10:46 AM on October 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by ifjuly at 10:46 AM on October 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
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posted by blob at 5:01 PM on June 27, 2012 [1 favorite]