Grilled Anchovies Two Ways from the South of France
Eating anchovies is one of life’s guiltless pleasures. I say guiltless because they are affordable, good for you, and very sustainable. But best of all they simply taste great and are quick to prepare. All that is required is a hot grill, a drizzle of olive oil, and a bright squeeze of fresh lemons. Fresh from the Mediterranean, both anchovies and sardines often feature on menus in the South of France. The easiest way to prepare fresh anchovies and sardines is to throw them on a super hot grill and cook both sides until they are crispy, about two (2) minutes per side.
Mention anchovies to many of your friends, and you will get wrinkled expressions of anguish. And, that is because they have likely encountered only the tiny, salty version that ends up (strangely) on some pizza orders. Sadly, anchovies have both a stigma of being strong-flavoured and hard to clean. Neither is true. In this post, I will walk you through how to clean fresh/frozen anchovies and two of my favourite quick preparations that you will love.
Here is my quick video on how to clean anchovies:
Grilled Anchovies with Feta, Dried Orange, and Fennel
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Feta Cheese
- 1/2 tsp Dried Orange Peel chopped fine
- 2 tsp Fennel Fronds
- 1 tsp Pastis
- a pinch Black Pepper
- a pinch Red Chili Flakes
- 1 tsp Olive Oil
- 1 lb Fresh Anchovies or Sardines deboned
- 1 cup Tomato Sauce
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the feta, orange zest, fennel, pastis, pepper, chili, and olive oil. Take an extremely small amount of the filling and put inside the anchovies. Grill over a hot charcoal or wood fire until down. Serve in a pool of warm tomato sauce.
Grilled Anchovies with Preserved Lemon, Thyme, and Breadcrumbs
Ingredients
- 1/2 Preserved Lemon chopped fine
- 2 tsp Fresh Thyme chopped
- 1 cup Breadcrumbs
- 1/2 tsp Espelette Pepper
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
- 1 lb Fresh Anchovies or Sardines deboned
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the lemon, thyme, breadcrumbs, pepper, and olive oil. Equally divide the filling and stuff into anchovies. Cook over a hot charcoal or wood fire until done, about 3 minutes. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil.
Something Fishy in Marseille:
“C’est la sardine qui a bouché le port de Marseille!”
(A sardine blocked Marseille’s port!)
This local saying is famous throughout France. Another that is less well-known is “Chercher Molinari” (look for Molinari). Both expressions, curiously, come from the same famous disaster that took place in the 18th century. Read about these two expressions from Marseille here.
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