Simple Spanish Food

Old-School Anchovies, anchoas "a la antigua"

Whenever we're in Spain, Ana tries to pick up a few tins of Ortiz anchoas "a la antigua"--anchovies prepared "the old fashioned way." We have not been able to find a source for these in the U.S., and even in Spain it isn't always easy to find them (the supermarket chain Carrefour sometimes carries them), but they are well worth searching for. Of all the tinned anchovy fillets, these come the closest to the salt-packed anchovies (anchoas en salazón) served in the very best tapas bars.   

You can sometimes find Ortiz's anchoas "a la antigua" in miniature packets, about half the size of the standard 50 gram anchovy tin. These are perfect for when you want to make only one or two tapas. (An open tin of anchovies in olive oil just doesn't keep very well even in the fridge, so it's best to eat them all the day you open the can).

Basically Ortiz anchoas a la antigua are first-class anchovies  (you can still see bits of silvery skin attached to the fillets, just like in a good tapas bar), packed in an excellent virgin olive oil with herbs.   The texture is firm. The flavor, like that of any good anchovy, is not at all fishy. At the same time, these anchovies are  unique because of the quality of the ingredients, the way they are prepared, and the herbs. 

Open a tin of these, serve them with good bread and wine, and you have an instant tapas party.  

While La Tienda doesn't carry anchoas "a la antigua," they do have other quality Spanish anchovies on their anchovy page.

 

New York Chefs Embrace Spanish-style Anchovies

“Anchovies were the thing we joked about as kids," says  Seamus Mullen (chef at the restaurant Tertulia) in a recent article in The New York Times. "In Spain, it was completely the opposite. In Spain they were revered as this delicacy.”

“We’ve turned so many people on to anchovies,” Mr. Mullen goes on to say. “Ninety-nine percent of these people will say, ‘Oh, my God, I never knew anchovies could be so good.’ ”

Other New York chefs, such as Renae and Neill Holland at Smorgasburg, are also embracing Spanish-style anchovy preparations, such as fresh fried anchovies or boquerones.

See my post "All About Anchovies" for more information on different  Spanish anchovy preparations.  Another post,  "All About Anchovies II" , focuses on Spanish anchovy fillets packed in olive oil--and just how different they are from the anchovies sold in most U.S. supermarkets.

Click here to see Jeff Gordinier's article "The Lowly Anchovy: Customers Finally Take the Bait" in The New York Times.

 

Anthony Bourdain Raves about Tinned Seafood from Spain

 

I'm always trying to convince people just how good Spanish tinned seafood can be--and how it has nothing to do with the canned seafood available in most U.S. supermarkets.  In Spain a can of cockles or mussels can be a near luxury item.  Together with good bread and wine, they make elegant tapas.

I go back to the topic again and again: see my post on Cantabrian Anchovy fillets in olive oil, or bonito del norte (albacore tuna in olive oil), or Spanish sardines (sardinas y sardinillas).  I'm aware that many people who have never tried these and other kinds of canned seafood from Spain are skeptical, so I link to experts whenever possible. (See my post The Wall Street Journal praises Galician sardines). 

Recently I saw an episode of No Reservations at my sister's. The celebrity chef and host Anthony Bourdain was in Spain,  raving about the tinned seafood--mussels, razor clams, cockles, and much more. He and his translator go on to explain how Spanish tinned seafoods at their best can be even better than fresh.

Click here to see Anthony Bourdain talking about how good Spanish canned seafood can be.

The video begins with a rant (the profanity is bleeped out).  He begins to talk specifically about Spanish tinned seafood around minute three.  

Check out the Spanish tinned seafood selection at:

Anchoa y Boquerón: A Classic Tapa

One of my all-time favorite tapas is anchoa y boquerón.  You can find these in bars all over Spain. They're also easy to make at home.

As I explain in my post All About Anchovies, anchoas are cured anchovies. In Spain they  are typically of much, much higher quality than the tinned anchovies found in U.S. supermarkets.

The boquerón is the same fish, but uncured. A  boquerón may be fresh or, in this case, pickled in vinegar, olive oil, garlic and herbs.

The flavor of a boquerón is completely different from that of an anchoa, but the two perfectly compliment each other, and when placed together on top of a piece of good garlic toast, the combination is out of this world. 

If you'd like to make a tapa of anchoa y boquerón at home, the on-line Spanish food store La Tienda sells top-quality boquerones, anchovies, and even a selection of Spanish breads to make the toast with.  Or you can make your own bread. See my recipes for easy, no-knead Spanish-style breads.   Once you have the three main ingredients, all you have to do is slice the bread, toast it, and brush it with a quality virgin olive oil and crushed garlic, and top it with a fillet of anchoa and another of boquerón, and there you have it.

If you are in Spain, you can find a tapa of anchoa y boquerón in bars just about anywhere in the country.   It goes under various names: canapé de anchoa y boquerón, montado de anchoa y boquerón, montadito de anchoa y boquerón, pincho de anchoa y boquerón, pintxo de anchoa y boquerón, or simply anchoa y boquerón. 

As with any tapa, the quality varies from bar to bar. The very best use salt-packed anchovies, anchoas en salazón, and top-quality boquerones.

To me, this tapa goes best with a simple Spanish red wine, such as a Valdepeñas or a young Rioja, or a glass of cold lager. See my posts on Spanish wines and other drinks.

 

Refrigerate Your Anchovies, Please

Though my favorite anchovies are salt-packed, or en salazón (see my post on La Dolores), oil-packed anchovy fillets are not at all a bad thing.   The best are top-quality anchovies preserved in virgin olive oil.  They are very close, both in flavor and texture, to salt-packed anchovies.  And they save labor, which is probably the reason why oil-packed anchovies became so popular in the first place. Rinsing, skinning, and filleting salt-packed  anchovies is, after all, a lot of work.

But there's a catch. Anchovy fillets packed in oil need to be refrigerated, both at the market and at home.

Here's a pic of a refrigerated anchovy section in a Spanish supermarket:

They don't go to all of this trouble for the fun of it.  Without refrigeration, oil-packed anchovy fillets deteriorate quickly. They become mushy and fishy-tasting.   This is probably the reason why so many people in the U.S. dislike anchovies. They've never had one that's been properly treated.

As I explain in my post "All About Anchovies II," most supermarkets in the U.S. carry only the lowest quality anchovies and they do not refrigerate them.  Even on those rare occasions when I find a decent brand for sale, it's inevitably kept on the tinned-goods aisle.

So if you want decent anchovies, it's usually necessary to find some other source. I have heard that some  Italian markets still sell whole salt-packed anchovies by the pound. If you have one in your area, it's well worth a try--and the work of preparing them.   Ana and I stock up on anchovies whenever we're in Spain (see again "All About Anchovies II"). The on-line Spanish food store LaTienda sells high-quality anchovy fillets packed in olive oil. They should be delivered in a cool pack to your door. When they arrive, put them in the fridge until you're ready to use them.

So many tapas rely on good anchovies.

One of my favorites is the simplest: anchovies on garlic toast. (See my posts on Spanish breads).

You could also add flame roasted peppers.

Or tomato . . .

And they are incredibly good with escabeche.

Other ideas: serve anchovy fillets on  halved boiled eggs, ensaladilla rusa (Spanish "Russian Salad"), and, yes, pizza.

 

My Favorite Tapas in Spain: La Dolores, Madrid

La Dolores is an old and very well-known tapas bar in the center of Madrid. Most of the guidebooks mention it, and, yes, there will be tourists, but the place stays packed with locals, and for good reason. La Dolores has some of the best tapas/pinchos anywhere.  Whenever we're in Madrid, we always go at least once, usually several times. (Ana took the pics for this post, by the way, during the off-hours: most of the time the place is so crowded it would be difficult to photograph).

The tapas at La Dolores are mostly simple  with few ingredients, served canapé-style on slices of some of the best bread in the Madrid.  One of our favorites is the first-rate smoked salmon on queso de Burgos--a mild cheese that goes much better with smoked fish than cream cheese. 

But my all-time favorite tapa at La Dolores is the pincho de anchoa--toast with olive oil, slices of excellent tomato, and the very best anchovies. La Dolores is one of the few tapas bars that still uses salt-packed anchovies, anchoas en salazón. (La Venencia, another old Madrid tapas bar, specializing in sherries, is another).  See my post "All About Anchovies I" for more information on anchovies, including salt-packed. 

There is a lot of debate out there about anchovies.   Some people claim that salt-packed anchovies aren't any better than the best oil-packed kind. (See Amanda Hesser's article "A Little Fish, Much Maligned" in the New York Times). Don't believe them.  The very best oil-packed anchovies are indeed good, but the salt-packed kind, when well-prepared, are even better. 

Preparing salt-packed anchovies is a lot of work.  We've sat in La Venencia during the off-hours, drinking fino and watching a barmaid rinsing the salt off these anchovies one by one.  It takes time.  The skin then must be scraped away. They must be filleted and marinated in oil. Because of the labor involved, both La Dolores and La Venencia charge about 50 céntimos more for their anchovies than any other tapa on their menu. (It's still a bargain).  Would they go to such trouble if there really weren't any difference?  Would their customers continue to pay a little extra for them? 

Look at this tapa of anchovies from La Dolores.

You see the remnants of the tail still attached, letting you know that this was a whole, salt-packed anchovy. Sometimes you will also see a bit of silver gleam on these anchovies where the skin has not been completely scraped away: another good sign.  But the main way to know this anchovy  is the best-of-the-best is to try it.  

You'll also see in the upper right of the picture of a green olive wrapped with a boquerón en vinagre--a fresh anchovy pickled in olive oil, vinegar, and herbs. (See again my post "All About Anchovies I" for more information).  These are also excellent at La Dolores--and in this case, complimentary: the best tapas bars always serve a free tapa when you order a drink.

La Dolores is located in La Plaza de Jesús, right next to the Palace Hotel. It's 5 minutes walk from the Prado Museum and the Thyssen, too, and just a short walk from the Puerta del Sol.

 

All About Anchovies, Part II: Cantabrian Anchovy Fillets Packed in Olive Oil

 

Tinned anchovy fillets from Spain are worlds apart from those you're likely to find in U.S. supermarkets.  

For years I tried different brands of anchovies available here in the U.S.  They were inevitably way too salty, often mushy in texture and usually fishy tasting, if not downright funky.  It's no wonder that so many people in the U.S. dislike anchovies.  The anchovies here most of the time simply aren't good.

In Spain, anchovies are taken seriously.   Spanish supermarkets keep tinned anchovy fillets under refrigeration, where they should be, not on the canned goods aisle. The expiration dates are printed in bold type on the sides of the tins, and usually fall within the year.  There is a wide selection. The best are from Cantabria, and while not exactly a luxury item, they aren't cheap. 

The fillets are thick, meaty, firm, not overly salty. The flavor, while bold, is not fishy or funky.  They're packed in olive oil, and nothing else.

Good Spanish anchovies are everything anchovies should be. The only anchovies you'll find better than these are salt-packed anchovies.  These will be the subject of another post. But the best tinned anchovy fillets are very nearly as good.

When we're in Spain, we stock up on tins of anchovies and keep them in the hotel refrigerator. When it's time to go home, we put them in the suitcase at the last minute and put them in the refrigerator as soon as we get home, before we unpack anything else. It's a bit of trouble, but well worth the effort.

Yes, these anchovies are that good. 

La Tienda sells Cantabrian anchovy fillets packed in oil.  You can also find Anchovies in Olive Oil at Amazon. It's worth shopping around to find the best source. Spanish anchovy fillets are pricey here, but unless you have a market in your area that stocks good brands of Spanish anchovies and takes care of them--that is, keeps them under refrigeration and within their sell-by dates--the alternatives are few. If you want good Spanish tapas and meals that call for anchovies, the stuff you find in the grocery just won't do.

 If you do order anchovies on-line, they should arrive at your door in some type of cold pack, and you should put them immediately in your refrigerator. They should be well within the sell-by date, which should be printed on the side of the can.

Unless you're making tapas or dinner for a crowd, it's best to order small-sized tins.  Once you open the tin, the anchovies just don't keep well.  Even if you top them off with good olive oil, the way many cook books suggest, they're fishy tasting by the next day, and mushy by the  third. Order small tins, and use all the fillets the day you open the tin.

One of my favorite ways  to eat anchovies is the simplest: toast a slice of really good bread, smear it with good olive oil and minced garlic, and lay the anchovy fillet on top. If you have a good anchovy fillet, there are few things better in this world.

They're also good on toast with roasted peppers.

One of our favorite pinchos of all time is a piece of really good garlic toast with an anchovy and a boqueron en vinagre (a fresh pickled anchovy fillet: see my post "All about Anchovies, Part I") arranged criss-cross on top. Nothing else. Unfortunately fresh anchovies aren't usually available in the U.S. , but you can create a similar combination with some escabeches. Here's anchovy with pickled trout (trucha en escabeche) on garlic toast, a fabulous combination.

All about Anchovies, Part I: anchoas y boquerones

Anchovies, like olives, bread and wine, are quintessential Spanish food.  In Spain, anchovies are eaten fresh and cured. (The anchovies we know from cans and jars are a variety of the cured).   The fresh (uncured) anchovies are known as boquerones, and the cured anchovies are called anchoas.

In Spain fresh anchovies are often simply fried in olive oil.  They make up part of the pescadito frito,  a dish of various fried fish--something like the Spanish version of a "fisherman's platter"-- served in Andalusia.  Fresh fried anchovies are often served on their own in bars, as a tapa.  In this form, they taste nothing like the anchovies we know from cans. They more closely resemble other fried fish. When they are truly fresh the flavor is clean and mild.

Unfortunately fresh anchovies are usually not available in the U.S. and there is nothing quite like them.

In Spain fresh anchovies are also pickled in vinegar. They are called boquerones en vinagre. 

The best boquerones en vinagre in Spain are homemade, or made by fairly small shops specializing in boquerones en vinagre.  Quality varies, so Spaniards shop around for the best suppliers.   Mass produced boquerones en vinagre  sold in Spain's big supermarkets make an okay substitute.  Spanish boquerones en vinagre are available here in the U.S. from on-line stores like La Tienda. You can also sometimes find boquerones en vinagre in some supermarkets here in the U.S.  Please avoid French-Moroccan products packet in sunflower oil, and if you do try them, keep in mind that high quality Spanish boquerones in vinagre taste much, much better.

In Spain,  boquerones are also sold in cans like sardines. Don't mistake these for canned anchovy fillets or anchoas, which are cured and much saltier. Canned boquerones are packed much like sardines, with skins and bones intact, in olive oil. The taste is milder than sardines, and the texture is more delicate.

As for anchoas, or cured anchovies, the very best come from the Cantabrian Sea.   There are two basic types. One is the kind packed in salt, called anchoas en salazón.  These are packed whole, with skins and bone (though not the heads) in pure salt, nothing else. Preparing requires filleting and skinning them, rinsing them, and finally covering them with good olive oil.  It's a bit of work, but they are well worth the effort. They are the best of the best.

Unfortunately I have been unable to find Spanish salt-packed anchovies for sale on-line except in large quantities. You may wish to try an Italian brand of anchovies in Salt available at Amazon. I have not tried them, but they should be similar, if not exactly the same.

Finally, there are the cured anchovies packed in olive oil, in tins or jars.  In Spain, cured anchovy fillets in olive oil are of very high quality.

These may look much like the tinned anchovies available in supermarkets, but as I will explain, they are worlds apart in flavor and texture, and well worth the trouble and expense. La Tienda sells a good brand of Spanish anchovy fillets in oil. 

As boquerones, or fresh anchovies, are only very rarely available in the U.S., I will concentrate in future posts on cured anchovies, both salt packed and fillets in oil.