Store cupboard staples to help you thrive in isolation

Here in the UK, we haven't been as focused on stockpiling since fears of a “no deal” Brexit gripped the nation just last summer. The truth is, whatever the external threat, we are natural hoarders and like nothing better than to fill our store-cupboards, preparing our personal fortresses for a lengthy siege.

Recently it has been the staple carbs - dried pasta and long life bread - that have grabbed the attention of panic buyers. But COVID-19 would seem like a blessing if all you had to improve five kilos of spaghetti and some “ready to bake” baguettes was an oversupply of hand sanitiser gel.

These bulk goods rely on our stores of long life additives: tins, jars and bottles that cluster in disjointed formation at the back of our kitchen cupboards, ready to be called upon at a moments notice to add flavour, texture and enjoyment to food. In these dark times, the difference between having a stock of ordinary and extraordinary store cupboard ingredients could be the difference between surviving and thriving the apocalypse.

There are of course hundreds of store cupboard foot soldiers that no right thinking cook should consider living without. But if you had to pick one from your kitchen armoury, to bring your staples to life, give hope in front of despair and shed light through the darkness, what would that be? It is a tough choice, but there is a strong case to be made for the humble, salted anchovy.

From salads to pizza, pasta sauces, stocks or simply toast and butter, salted anchovies have been around improving food for millennia. Like olives, it's almost an unbearable cliché that everyone hated their first one - myself included - but I am convinced that anyone who maintains this position through adulthood is simply lacking perseverance.

There are over 140 species of anchovy found in the cold waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean. Most species however are small and frail and get damaged in fishing nets, so the only anchovy you’re likely to find in shops is the hardy Engraulis encrasicolus, commonly known as the European anchovy. This small, blue-green fish has an unusually large jaw, hence one of its Spanish names, boquerón, or “big mouth.”

They range in length from 2cm to up to 40cm however these days, due to intensive commercial fishing, few make it to full adult size. Anchovies are attracted to moonlight so boats go out at night to catch them. Nowadays the boats are fitted with large lamps to help attract the fish.

The preserving process is as simple as it comes. The fish have their heads and guts removed and are then packed tightly into containers with coarse sea salt and weighted down. As the salt draws liquid from the fish, a brine quickly forms. The sooner the salting happens after they are fished, the more flavour that gets preserved. This salt curing process takes six to eight weeks, depending on the size of the fish. When ready, the flesh starts to take on a browny pink hue.

As well as preserving the fish, the salt breaks down the muscle proteins softening the flesh so that when the preserved anchovies are cooked they dissolve into sauces. Breaking down proteins in this way also releases amino acids that give salted anchovies the intense umami flavour and makes them such a valued ingredient.

They can be sold whole still packed in salt, or more commonly, cleaned of the salt, fileted then put in tins or jars of olive or sunflower oil. Whilst this extra processing makes them more convenient to use, if you are lucky enough to find the salt packed version, they have a punchier flavour and more supple texture when eaten whole. To prepare them, you simply need to wash the salt off in fresh running water, remove the bones then brush with a good, light olive oil.

The landlocked Piedmontese are one of the great users of anchovies in dishes like bagna cauda, a thick oily sauce rich with garlic and anchovy used as a dip for crudités and acciughe al verde where the largest anchovies are eaten whole covered in a parsley and olive oil sauce. They are also used to season the tuna sauce in a classic vitello tonnato. On market days the acciughai (anchovy sellers) in Piedmont’s markets stand behind large metal drums of salted fish selling a range of anchovies by the gram that vary enormously in size, and price. The largest and most expensive fish on offer are always from northern Spain.

The history of salting anchovies in Cantabria on the Atlantic Basque coast of Spain only dates back to the 19th century when a group of Sicilian salters started to fish the Atlantic waters. These Atlantic fish are prized for their large size and meaty texture. As well as being popular for acciughe al verde, they can be found in many of the classic pintxos bites in nearby San Sebastian, including the signature La Gilda, where a large anchovy is mixed with green olives and pickled peppers on a cocktail stick to create an intense, salty and vinegary bite.

It's on the informally named “Costa de l'Anxova'' (anchovy coast) though, that stretches 50 km from the northern Mediterranean coast of Spain through semi-autonomous Catalonia and into southern France, where anchovy salting has its richest history. These Mediterranean anchovies are said to be smaller, leaner and more flavourful than their Atlantic cousins.

Along this stretch of coastline, the towns of L’Escala in Catalonia and Collioure in France both stake a claim to producing the finest product. In L’Escala, the tiny fish have been championed by legendary Catalan chef, Ferran Adrian and were put to creative use in his El Bulli restaurant in many dishes including an anchovy gelato. Since 2004, Collioure’s anchovies have had protected geographical indication status from the European Union. So important were the fish to this small town’s economy that in 1466 King Louis XI of France exempted the town from the hated gabelle, or salt tax. Here the anchovies, which are hand filleted, are used in a classic dish of braised rabbit in a tomato, anchovy and white wine sauce, or whole in an eponymous salad with roasted red peppers.

Their popularity and versatility means however that in some areas, anchovies are in serious danger of being overfished. In 2008 the fish were put on a “fish to avoid” list by the Marine Conservation Society. There are now strict quotas enforced on anchovy fishing throughout the Mediterranean and Bay of Biscay. As with most food, the key to shopping sustainably is knowing where your product comes from. Amber Madley, Ethics Manager and Acting Head of Sustainability at New England Seafood adds that consumers should “look out for labels which point to sustainability. Words like responsibly or sustainably sourced can add some degree of assurance that seafood has been taken from managed fisheries, but the blue MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) logo indicates that the fish have come from a certified sustainable source.”

Anchovies may be an ingredient that you have taken for granted or believed to be homogenous, you may even think you hate their intense salty flavour and oily texture. But like so many things that we use in the kitchen, there is a whole spectrum of taste and quality out there waiting to be discovered. Who knows for how long we are going to be locked inside our homes? Certainly long enough to shop around online for something above the ordinary. And with enough time to wash and bone our own salted anchovies, there is no excuse not to look for the best. With a good supply of this rich, salty, flavour addition and a touch of imagination and creativity there is no excuse not to turn your stocks of bread dried pasta into countless delicious meals, providing some small comfort in these uncertain times.

5 anchovy dishes to brighten up your corona lockdown:

La Gilda

https://eatapas.co.uk/en/blog/gilda-n4

Piedmont Stuffed Peppers

https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/collections/delias-summer-collection/piedmont-roasted-peppers

Acciughe al Verde

https://www.tastecooking.com/recipes/acciughe-al-verde-anchovies-green-sauce/

Collioure Salad

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/salad_of_peppers_18285

Sicilian Pasta with anchovies pine nuts and currants
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/spaghetti-fennel-anchovies-currants-pine-nuts-capers