Fish & seafood · Preserved fish
Anchovies
Tiny oily fish, usually salt-cured fillets in oil; melted into sauces as a savoury seasoning.
Also called: anchovy fillets, hamsi, boquerones
A kind of fish
Photo: Nesnad, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-4.0)
What it is
Anchovies are small silvery fish. Most are sold as salt-cured fillets packed in oil or salt: brownish-pink, intensely salty and savoury. Spanish boquerones are fresh anchovies marinated in vinegar (white and mild), and Turkish hamsi are fresh anchovies fried or baked. Cured anchovies are the base of fish sauces and many dressings.
How it’s used
- Melted into pasta sauces and lamb roasts
- Caesar dressing, salsa verde and tapenade
- Pizza and puttanesca
- Boquerones en vinagre as tapas
- Hamsi tava (fried fresh anchovies)
Characteristics
- Taste
- Intensely salty and umami.
- Texture
- Soft fillets that dissolve when heated.
- When cooked
- Cured fillets melt into hot oil within a minute, leaving depth rather than a fishy taste.
- Sold as
- cured, fresh, canned
- Cooking uses
- Mainly a seasoning, Commonly cooked, Usually eaten raw
Storage
Refrigerated. Unopened tins or jars keep in the cupboard; once opened, keep fillets covered in oil in the fridge.
Diet, allergens and safety
Contains Fish.
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Soy-free
- Caffeine-free
- Contains fish, a common allergen.
Nutrition per 100 g
- Energy
- 210 kcal
- Protein
- 28.89 g
- Carbohydrate
- 0 g
- Fat
- 9.71 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
- Sugars
- 0 g
USDA FoodData Central: Fish, anchovy, european, canned in oil, drained solids.
Substitutes
Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.
- Fish sauce — About 1/2 tsp per fillet in sauces.
- Miso — A little white miso adds savouriness for a fish-free version.
Related ingredients
Recipes with anchovies
See all 16Bagna càuda
Italian · 1 h · 319 kcalCaesar dressing
American · 10 min · 200 kcal
Caesar salad
American · 23 min · 492 kcalGreen goddess dressing
American · 40 min · 142 kcalInsalata di rinforzo
Italian · 1 h 23 min · 156 kcalJansson's temptation
Swedish · 1 h 20 min · 458 kcal
Königsberger Klopse
German · 50 min · 557 kcal
Nasi lemak
Malaysian · 1 h 25 min · 963 kcal
Orecchiette alle cime di rapa
Italian · 35 min · 611 kcal
Pasta alla puttanesca
Italian · 30 min · 515 kcal
Pasta con le sarde
Italian · 1 h · 866 kcalRémoulade sauce
French · 40 min · 174 kcal
4 more
- Salade niçoise · French
- Salsa verde (Italian green sauce) · Italian
- Tapenade (Provençal olive, caper and anchovy spread) · French
- Vitello tonnato · Italian
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