1. Overview
It’s been said that the world can be divided between two camps: those
who love anchovies and those who hate them. Cookbook author Lynn Nicholson
and Pacific Northwest top chef and restaurateur, John Nelson, are clearly from
the former camp, and are out to create many converts with their new cookbook,
Anchovies!: The Art of Cooking with the Little Fish with the Big Flavor.
While Europeans have been enjoying anchovies for centuriesit’s
practically been a staple in some areas of Spain, Italy, and FranceAmericans
have taken their time to warm up to this “super fish”. They’ve pushed up their
noses at the mere mention of anchovies, proclaiming them: too salty, too fishy!
“However, most people would admit to never having really tried anchovies
outside of biting in to an overly salty, cheap anchovy fillet thrown on top of pizza,”
says chef Nelson.
The tides have been changing and Americans are beginning tooften
unknowinglyenjoy anchovies. If menus at top restaurants around the country
are any indicator, the anchovy has become hot. At Anchovies & Olives restaurant
in Seattleone of Bon Appetit’s “10 Best New Restaurants in America” they
feature the Italian-inspired Bagna Cauda, Fried Oysters with Anchovy Dressing,
and a Beet Salad with a White Anchovy Dressing, among other anchovy-inspired
dishes. The chef at Sorella, a popular restaurant on the Lower East Side of New
York City, reports her favorite item on the menuand clearly a hit among
customersis the appetizer of Ligurian anchovies. And the couple who runs Bon

2. Chovie, specializing inyou guessed it, anchoviesreports crisping up 80
pounds of fried anchovies over a weekend between its two locations in Brooklyn,
NY. (The New York Times, Dining & Wine section, April 17, 2012)
After mostly making cameo appearances in Caesar salads and strewn
atop pizzas, today’s chefs have begun to drop their “don’t ask, don’t tell” policies
regarding their “secret ingredient” and are either slipping anchovies subtly in to
their recipes or boldly placing anchovies front and center on their menus.
Suddenly, it seems, people can’t get enough of the little fish with the big flavor.
While discerning diners are perusing menus, fishing for savory bites or
entrees that have that special-something flavor, unbeknownst to them, in many
cases, the little anchovy is often invisibly tucked in to even the simplest dishes to
provide the depth, richness, and otherworldliness that alone only the little
anchovy can provide. “The key to understanding anchovy flavoring is to realize
that the presence of anchovies in food can range dramatically, from subtle to
intense…when they are dispersed throughout other ingredients, they don’t add a
strong, fishy, telltale taste. They just make a finished dish taste better,” explains
Nicholson.
The mystery behind anchovies is that they are loaded with “umami,” the
so-called fifth taste, an element in certain foods that lifts the flavors of everything
it’s blended with. “This means you can blend a little anchovy with a grilling
rublike one with red wine, olive oil, garlic, and basiland it will help all the

3. flavors blossom while the anchovy will fade in to the background,” explains
Nicholson.
“The anchovy is the culinary equivalent of the Wonderbra. It adds body to
flat food. But like the Wonderbra, nobody should suspect it is there,” wrote Julia
Watson, food columnist for ivillage.com.
Whether served with tomato and mint on top of bruschetta, whirled in to
salad dressings, blended in to mashed potatoes, or used to infuse main dishes of
pork or lamb to add depth, many chefs use the anchovy as their go-to ingredient
for adding a rich, round flavor, and a sharp scent to a large variety of dishes.
“Anchovies have a clear, strong, base note flavor that lends a depth and
complexity to many dishes. They are a perfect starting point from which to build a
dish,” remarks Nicholson.
“The real reason most people are opposed to anchovies or think they
don’t like them is because they have never tasted a good-quality anchovy,
properly used,” says chef Nelson. The secret to learning to love the anchovy, he
explains, is knowing how to cook with them.
About the Book
The creative impetus behind Anchovies! stirred when Nicholson and
Nelson were working on their cookbook, It Started with Caesar: 150 Recipes
Inspired by the Flavors of America’s Favorite Salad. “I was doing research on

4. anchovies for that cookbook, and realized there was no definitive book on
anchovies. Fish cookbooks rarely gave them a passing glance,” says Nicholson.
“I also discovered that anchovies are a lot of chefs’ secret weapon,” she reports.
The cookbook also spawned from John and Lynn’s mutual love of anchovies. “It’s
like we couldn’t stop talking about anchovies, and coming up with new ideas for
ways to use them in the kitchen,” laughs Nicholson.
Nicholson grew up in the Pacific Northwest, including magical summers at
a cabin on Hood Canal west of Seattle. Some of her first memories were on the
beach at Hood Canal eating raw oysters shucked by her father. “It was at this
point, I think, that the umami taste was instilled in my soul and palate,” says
Nicholson. In her teens and twenties, she began salmon and tuna fishing up in
Canada. “I will always remember the time we ate salmon melt (sperm) pan-fried
by a local. It was delicious….not many people have eaten the melt,” laughs
Nicholson. An extremely “lucky” fisherwoman, she became close to moving to
Canada and becoming a fishing guide, and got her name in the Seattle Times
sports pages a couple of times for catching a lot of salmon.
Years later, in Seattle, she discovered anchovies. It was at a restaurant at
Pikes Place Market that served the classic Bagna Cauda that she says “was to
die for.” “That was my ‘ah-ha’ moment. That’s when I knew anchovies were a
really top-secret ingredient that I wanted to incorporate in to my cooking,” says
Nicholson.

5. In her twenties, she started using anchovies in Caesar salads, and making
her own Worcestershire and fish sauces. Then, for nearly four decades,
Nicholson traveled the world on a variety of adventures, and recalls eating
anchovies all the time in Spain and Portugal. “We ate fresh anchovies for
breakfast and when I bit in to a succulent anchovy stuffed olives and manchego
cheese, I knew I would be in love with anchovies forever,” she says.
During her travels, she always fished when possible, and explored the
local cuisine and markets. From spice markets in Seychelles to the incredible
markets in Kenya to colorful Mexican market to the souks in Morocco, Nicholson
literally spanned the globe; all the while collecting ideas and recipes that
contained anchovies. Each time she returned home, she began experimenting,
utilizing the anchovy’s amazing versatility, veering from the recipes to instill her
own favorite ingredients and flavors.
Nelson also grew up in the Pacific Northwest where fish and seafood
played a big role in his childhood experiences. “When I was a kid running around
the docks, we used to jig for anchovies…which I thought was really fun. We ate a
lot of small fishes, and the natives all had smelt, herring, candlefish…they used
them for their oils and to burn. Anchovies and small fish felt like an essential part
of life.” Nelson’s Scandinavian roots are instilled with memories of his Swedish
aunt making herring casserole for breakfast. “Oh my God, was that good,”
exclaims Nelson. As a teenager, Nelson traveled through Europe and
remembers eating fresh anchovies, and wondering why people in the U.S. didn’t
eat these really healthy, little fish.

6. Beginning with his very first restaurant, Nelson started cooking with
anchovies. “From flat filets, to fresh or frozen, to paste. Because the flavor
imparts so much….the fat is your flavor distributor, plus you have that salt which
is also a flavor enhancer,” says Nelson. “Anchovies have been one of my ‘secret’
ingredients in my restaurant for years,” confides Nelson. “You know the saying:
what you don’t know, won’t hurt you?” Over time, however, nosey diners
demanded to know what was creating the depth, the divine ‘otherness’ of so
many of his dishes. “So I told them,” laughs Nelson. “I guess the fish is out of the
bag!”
When Nicholson and chef Nelson met and began working on their
cookbook, 100 Ways to Do Caesar, the two were like a match made in the sea.
Chef Nelson’s affinity for “anything fish or seafood” was matched scale by scale
by Nicholson’s love for “all things anchovy.” It wasn’t long before the idea for
Anchovies! was born.
“We wanted to show the versatility of the anchovy, that they aren’t just for
Caesar salads or as a topping for pizza,” explains Nicholson. In Anchovies!, the
two chefs reveal how anchovies are sensational additions to everything from
starters to salads to main dishes and vegetables, as well as sauces and
seasonings. Professional chefs will be delighted by the wide variety of
sophisticated recipes, while home gourmands will become properly acquainted
with how to prepare the “king of fishes” in ways sure to spice up their culinary
repertoire.

7. Anchovies! has unique recipes for sensational starters like Creamy
Bagna Cauda, Black Olive Tapenade, and Anchovy Fries with Smoky Caesar
Aioli to crisp Caesar Salad to main dishes like Leg of Lamb with Anchovy Sauce,
Zarzuela Seafood Stew and Skate with Anchovy, Basil and Roasted Tomatoes to
classic Pasta Puttanesca to exotic-tasting vegetables like Asparagus with
Anchovies and Capers or Onion Tart with Anchovy to meaty and rich sauces like
Spicy Tomato Ragu or Arugula and Basil Olive Oil with Anchovy Onion.
An international recipes chapter showcases the global use of anchovies
from a Genoese Fish Salad to Jansson’s Temptationa traditional Swedish
casseroleto Ceviche from Southeast Asia to Anchovy Balls with Tomato from
Vietnam and Boquerones a la Malaguena and Escabeche from the Philippines. A
chapter devoted to Game Dishes includes such exotic recipes as Elk Lasagna,
Rabbit Polenta Terrine with Truffled Mascarpone, Black Trumpet Mushrooms and
Chervil, Tea Smoked Duck with Arugula Salad, and Water Chestnut-Pancetta
Vinaigrette.
With a wide variety of recipes, ranging from relatively simple to highly
sophisticated, Anchovies! will appeal to both novice and experienced cooks.
Anchovies! will give both professional chefs and home cooks that inside edge
with exciting new recipes harboring a “secret ingredient” while presenting bold
new flavors.