Hey, I Bet I Love Anchovies More than You Do!

I'll keep this short and savory, since I did such a long post just a day ago and I know your eyes could use the rest.

As you may (or may not) know, I love anchovies. I also love olives. So imagine my delight when I tasted a salad dressed with an olive-anchovy vinaigrette. I know the thought may make some people cringe, but it was very, very good. Just think, a bolder version of Cesar dressing sans the threat of salmonella. I’ve seen similar dressings with capers, and you may choose to substitute capers for anchovies if you’re one of those people who just can’t tolerate anchovies in your food.



Note: use the dry, wrinkly looking olives, not the ones in liquid. Their flavor is more intense and it gives a far better texture to the dressing.

Olive and Anchovy Vinaigrette
makes about ½ cup
1 oz black (pitted) olives, roughly chopped
2 anchovy fillets, roughly chopped
2 tsp Dijon or coarse mustard
1 tbs honey
3 tbs white wine vinegar
up to 1/3 cup olive oil

You can make the vinaigrette in your blender as you would any other, but I like to do this one by hand. If you go this route, grind the chopped olives in a mortar until you get a paste. Add the anchovies and grind until they are well incorporated. Transfer the paste to a large bowl, add the mustard, honey and vinegar. Whisk to get a uniform mixture. At this point, taste the mixture to see if you want more salt (probably not) or honey or vinegar. When you're happy with the flavor, slowly add the olive oil while whisking vigorously. That's all. See how easy that was?

Tasty and easy and quick and simple. That's what this lunch was. The only thing missing from this salad was some sliced sweet, red onions. Didn't have those so I threw some extra olives on top because, really, you can't have too many olives, right??

I like to serve this with a romaine or red leaf lettuce supplemented with a couple slices of red onion. Remember, a lot goes a long way. It’s also great to use as a dip with crusty bread, especially a nice sourdough. . Or even better, try it as a spread on salami sandwiches. Very delicious!

Surf and Turf

I don’t know why people are afraid of anchovies. I don’t think they’re fishy at all. They’re salty and briny, which gives them a fantastic taste. Oh, I'm salivating just thinking about pizza with anchovies.

Many years back, I saw Lidia Bastianich use an anchovy-based paste to rub all over a grilled steak. I tried it and it was AWESOME. Recently, I ran across a recipe from Emeril that uses lamb (click here to see original recipe). I used it as a starting point and ended up with something so tasty, I can't even describe it. You’ll just have to try it.

Lamb Roast Rubbed with Anchovy Garlic Paste

• ½ head garlic, minced
• 5-6 anchovy filets + 2 tsp oil from can
• 1 tbs chopped oregano
• 1 tbs lemon juice or balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbs Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 ½ to 2 lbs lamb roast
• Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the ingredients (except the meat) to get a paste. Rub the paste all over the lamb and allow it to sit in the fridge for at least 2 hour (longer is better). One hour before cooking the roast, take it out and let it sit at room temperature to take the chill off. Season it well with salt and pepper. Roast the lamb in a preheated 375º oven (I used a cast iron skillet, which I also preheated). The roasting time will vary depending on whether you have a butterflied piece of meat or whether it’s tied up. I had a butterflied roast and it took about 13 minutes (with convection on) for medium doneness.

If you want to make a pan sauce, transfer your roast to a large plate and put your roasting pan on a burner over medium-high heat. Add about ½ to 2/3 cup balsamic vinegar. Scrape up the stuck bits and let it reduce to about 3 tbs. Add about ½ to 2/3 cup chicken stock (and any juice from the resting roast) to the pan and let it simmer for a minute or two. Add a pat of butter if you like (whisk to make sure it’s well incorporated) and check the seasonings. Strain through a fine sieve before serving. If you prefer, you could serve tzatziki instead of sauce. Generally I make a sauce if I’m serving rice pilaf with the roast and tzatziki if I’m serving flatbread/pita.