Listen, I have nothing against picky eaters. If you've got a list of foods that just don't do it for you, I think that you're completely entitled to have that list. If something doesn't taste good to you, then I don't think you should feel like you need to eat it. One of the most common foods that tends to find itself onto people's lists of foods that they won't touch is anchovies. I get it — they're fishy, salty, and honestly, a little slimy. That said, I don't think these tiny, oily, tinned fish should be overlooked when it comes to the rich, umami, funky flavors that they can impart in whatever it is that you're cooking.
I'm not asking you to eat them straight out of the tin or to spread them on a piece of toast and dig on in. That's true anchovy dedication, and I can understand that that's not for everyone. All I'm suggesting is that you try incorporating them into sauces, braises, dressings, and stews. When added to a dish, anchovies impart a gentle, savory depth of flavor without overwhelming the entire dish. Sure, if you're heavy handed with the 'chovies, you may be flirting with a fishy tasting or irreversibly salty dish, but if you just add a few, the results will be subtly magical.
The most common example of a dish that uses anchovies for their savory goodness is classic Caesar salad dressing. When you eat a Caesar salad, are you tasting a fishy funk? Or are you tasting a creamy, perfectly salted, umami-rich dressing? Probably the latter, all thanks to anchovies. If you can handle Caesar salad dressing, then you can handle the addition of anchovies into plenty of other dishes that you're already making.
If you're still hesitant to incorporate anchovies into your home-cooked meals, start with recipes that have you cook the anchovies (as opposed to Caesar dressing, for example, where the anchovies are not heated). By cooking anchovies, they tend to melt into other ingredients, thus losing their faint fishy flavor and spreading a rich, savory flavor to the rest of the dish. Throw a few fillets in with your simmering aromatics when you're cooking a homemade tomato sauce, like marinara or pizza sauce. If you're sauteing some veggies like broccoli, kale, or zucchini, add a couple of anchovies into the hot oil beforehand to create a super-rich cooking fat to coat the veggies with. Not only do anchovies love greens, but they also love beans, so next time you have legumes over the stove, hit 'em with a few anchovies.
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If you're whipping up a soup or a braise, toss a few in while you're sauteing your garlic and onions for a subtle boost of flavor throughout the whole dish. Remember, anchovies play well with other salty, acidic, and briny ingredients, like olives, tomatoes, and capers. Next time you're making a pasta dish, try sliding in just a few anchovies — the results will not disappoint. Plus, you can never add too much Parmesan (or any hard, salty cheese) when you've got anchovies in the mix. Think back to that Caesar salad dressing, you know?
And again, if you're nervous that adding anchovies is going to make your food taste fishy, then start small. Try out adding one or two fillets, and once you realize the backbone of flavor that these lil' fishies can impart, feel free to add more and more to whatever it is that you're cooking. You may not be crushing 'em straight out of the can, but your home-cooked meals are going to have a whole new dimension of flavor that they never had before. The pickier eaters in your house don't even need to know about your new secret ingredient. And whether or not you're a picky eater yourself, anchovies certainly have a place in your cupboard.
Need inspiration? Try some of our favorite recipes using anchovies:
