FavorFlavs #42

We all have them: favorite flavors, ingredients and kitchen tools. FavorFlavs we always reach for (again). These are ours.

Anchovies

Whenever possible, we choose fresh. Caught along the Portuguese, Spanish, Greek or Italian coast and grilled or fried straight away, anchovies are the absolute top. Just like, not to forget, Bergse anchovies from our own Brabant.

Pickled on the spot in thick layers of salt and sold in round tins or glass jars, they are the runner-up.
But there’s always a stack of good old tins from the local supermarket in the kitchen cupboard, too. Just in case. And that ‘just in case’ stretches from pizza to sauce for the Northern Italian summer favorite bagna cauda.

Stand up for your flavor—that’s the anchovy.

Small fish, big flavor—that salted anchovy. What it lacks in size, it more than makes up for threefold in the mouth. Salty, yes, but deliciously salty. Boldly salty. Stand up for your flavor—that’s the anchovy. Uncompromisingly salty. Although we also happily eat it raw when pickled in vinegar (boquerones en vinagre).

And because we’re not averse to ‘little effort, big effect,’ this multifunctional little fish is an ingredient close to our hearts. Salty and sour.

Available at the supermarket.