Visiting Italy?
Whilst baked stuffed anchovies are a traditional Genoese recipe, anchovies stuffed with chards, breaded and fried for me are a family recipe. My grandmother prepared them in the summer, my mom still prepares them when she feels like doing something that reminds her of summer.
The most boring part is to clean the anchovies but at home they are always cleaned socially. The is who bent over the sink, with the water running, cleans a fish after the other trying every time to refine the technique to be faster. And who is sitting at the table, having breakfast, leafing through a newspaper, shelling peas or peeling potatoes, in any case making that light conversation that season the mornings spent in the kitchen.
The funniest part, on the other hand, is breading. A delicate job but always reserved for children, if there are around the house. It must be the high risk of dirt and mess that the passages in the eggs and breadcrumbs create that instinctively lead to think that it is a very fun and harmless game to offer to the little ones. Or to enjoy in peace.
Stuffed anchovies should not be fried too long because anchovies cook very quickly, the risk being that of making them dry. About a minute per side, the time the coatings get colored. Then they must be sprinkled with salt, I love to season Maldon salt, and served both hot and at room temperature, when all tastes have had time to get to know each other and mix well.
In the same way also sardines can be cooked. They will be slightly fatter … but remember that sardines are much easier to clean!
Stuffed anchovies fried
Ingredients
- 1 kg of very fresh anchovies
- ½ kg of chards
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- ½ medium onion
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh marjoram
- nutmeg to taste
- breadcrumbs
- Peanut oil for frying
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Rinse and boil the chards for 5 minutes in salted water, drain and let cool.
- Clean the anchovies by removing the head and entrails and open them as a book by removing the bone. Rinse and leave them to dry on a sheet of absorbent paper.
- In a pan pour two tablespoons of olive oil and the finely chopped onion. Let it brown for 10 minutes until it becomes gold and translucent.
- Meanwhile, squeeze the chard well, chop finely and add to the frying onion. Sauté for a couple of minutes. Pour the chards into a bowl, add 2 eggs, the Parmesan, a pinch of nutmeg and season with salt.
- Pour the breadcrumbs in a deep dish while in another deep dish beat the remaining two eggs with a fork, adding a pinch of salt.
- Stuff the anchovies: spread a part of the anchovies open as a book (with the skin facing down) on the work surface and with a teaspoon spread out a little chard stuffing on each anchovy. Cover each anchovy with another anchovy (with the skin facing upwards), taking care to make the edges adhere well to the filling, then pass them one by one in the beaten egg and then in the breadcrumbs.
- Continue until all the anchovies are used up.
- Put a pot with high sides on the fire and heat the peanut oil.
- Fry the stuffed anchovies 1 minute per side or until they are golden brown. Let them drain on absorbent paper.
- Serve hot or at room temperature, sprinkled with salt.
LINK LOVE:
Anchovies, a small fish, extremely easy to prepare. If you love this fish and its convenience in the kitchen, you can also try to cook Bagnun d’acciughe, and anchovies soup with fresh tomato and herbs, and Anchovies Cacciatore, where the fish is quickly stewed with rosemary and garlic.
LET’S STAY IN TOUCH! SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER!
