Acciughe Marinate (Marinated anchovies)

 

Viola Buitoni suggests a fruity extra virgin olive oil for this dish. When we made it for our Winter Table, we drizzled it with Luretík’s Sicily, a blend of Nocellara del Belice and Cerasuola varieties.

Buitoni’s recipe headnote gives you a good idea about how much fun our group of die-hard anchovy lovers had preparing the fish:

Once or twice a year, my father came home with a one-kilo jar of anchovies in salt. Alberta Mezzetti, his housekeeper, stopped whatever she was doing to tend to the tiny fish. She summarily rinsed two-thirds of them and repacked them in fresh salt to keep for the pantry. The rest would be processed for shorter-term consumption and be kept in the refrigerator readily available as snacks or starters. Below is a riff on her technique. The red onion and chili are my additions, and Alberta would use parsley, not mint. The lemon is a way to cut the sometimes overpowering saltiness. I serve these anchovies as an aperitivo with warm crusty bread or crackers. Whatever is left over, you can toss into a salad.

Serves 4

• 1 small wedge red onion
• 2 tablespoons red or white vinegar
• 12 whole anchovies packed in salt
• ½ lemon
• 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 8 to 10 mint leaves

Slice the red onion into thin scythes, drop them into a bowl, and sprinkle them with the vinegar. Toss 3 or 4 ice cubes into the bowl and cover everything with water.

Working with one at a time, thoroughly rinse the salt off of each anchovy. Slit the belly, then gently pry it open, leaving the back attached. Rinse out the gunk and guts. Carefully separate the spine from the flesh and snap it off right before the tail.

Give the anchovies one last rinse, shake off the excess water, and lay them on a plate, alternating them head to tail. Pat the little fish dry.

Douse the anchovies with the juice of the lemon half. Sprinkle them with the chili flakes and generously drizzle them with the olive oil.

Lift the onion scythes out of the bowl and shake off the excess water. Distribute them over the anchovies.

Stack the mint leaves, roll them up tightly lengthwise, and cut them crosswise into thin ribbons. Scatter the mint over the anchovies and serve.