Serving tinned fish the right way …
An anchovy draped over a buttery piece of warm bread or toast is arguably one of the best snacks you can eat – especially when the sun is out and it’s day one of a holiday. There’s a little restaurant in London I love called Brutto, where they serve you a plate of toast, curls of butter and a little pile of anchovies to eat alongside a negroni. It’s down a little cobbled street in Farringdon and if you go on a sunny afternoon you can almost pretend that you’re in Florence.
None of this will come as a surprise to the Portuguese, who have been eating tinned fish for centuries. Conservas, as they call them, are as embedded in their food culture as olive oil or bread. In Lisbon you’ll find dedicated tinned fish shops selling beautifully illustrated tins of sardines, mackerel and tuna stacked floor to ceiling, the tins themselves so lovely you almost don’t want to open them. The Portuguese have always known what the rest of us are only just catching up to: that a really good tin of fish, treated with a little respect, is something worth celebrating.
I used to hate anchovies. How could anyone like a salty, oily old fish in a tin? Disgusting. But I remember the specific day I came around to them. I was at my friend’s bar in Mallorca (Bar La Sang, a must-visit if you’re in Palma) where they serve a thick piece of sourdough toast with locally made burrata broken and spread on top, four big anchovies draped over it and a good glug of extra virgin olive oil. My friends sent it over as a gesture, which meant I had to eat it. Begrudgingly, I took a bite, fully expecting to hide the anchovies in my bag – but it was surprisingly delicious. So delicious I ordered another. I’ve loved them ever since.
If you’re still on the fence, keep tasting. Buy the good ones and try the toast, burrata and anchovy combination. I think you’ll come around.
On my own quest to explore further, I tried the recent social media trend of opening a tin of sardines, placing a cardboard kitchen roll on top and setting it alight so it burns and smokes the fish. I followed Ben Slater’s (@slaterchef) method, which was delicious with his additions – toast, lots of butter, mustard and chives. It worked, and it was good, but I prefer the far simpler method of peeling back the tin and placing it under a hot grill for a few minutes. Less drama, less interesting for a viral video, but equally as good. And considerably less likely to set off the smoke alarm.
I’ve been collecting various brands of tinned fish to taste for this article, so I thought I’d invite some friends over for drinks on a Friday night and serve a spread along with a cold beer as everyone arrived. I laid out five varieties: mussels en escabeche, sardines in olive oil and lemon, yellowfin tuna in olive oil, anchovies and mackerel. Alongside good butter, a parsley, chive and shallot salad dressed with lemon and olive oil, and the best baguette I could find. For how little effort it took, it looked impressive.
A word of warning: the quality of tinned fish varies, and it matters enormously. A bad tin of sardines is exactly what you imagine – grey, mealy and depressing. A good sardine is firm, flavourful and perfect on a piece of buttered bread. So buy the best tins you can, it makes all the difference. Ortiz, Shines, Sea Sisters, Luri, Olasagasti and Rock Fish are all worth seeking out. The Rock Fish mussels escabeche in particular were a hit.
If you’d like to serve something more substantial than a spread, see my recipe for tuna tonnato salad with baby potatoes, green beans and cucumber, which is perfect for a summer lunch. It’s safe to say I’ve become hooked on tinned fish, so I did a deep dive in THE GLOSS Table newsletter this month. You can still read it if you sign up now. @kittycoles