Spice Road for the Art of Flavour

Readers will have noted our unbridled love for Anchovies. For this we make no apology.

We published the first of our Anchovy articles late 2023 and following, there has been regular Readers comments and several recipe suggestions.

The article began: "You can see why Anchovies appeal to the Italian Sicilians. Anchovies have been described as having a mysterious complexity. It rather fits these wonderful Island people, you would think".

Readers beyond Sicily are also no doubt aware that these tiny little fish fillets with their strong flavour structure will totally disappear into a dish, without leaving any semblance of fish taste while continuing to deliver such a distinctive and mysterious flavour.

That's all very nice and a bit exciting but if you were an Anchovy you would look for something more than being described as distinctive and mysterious. You would like an identity.

The Fifth Umami Taste

Thankfully, our culinary world provides such a place for ingredients possessing mysterious and unique identity. It is called the fifth taste or better; Umami.

Having sorted all that we can now move on to a little of the history of this remarkable fish.

The ancient Romans created a recipe they called Garum that heavily features anchovies and salt. It continues today and preparing it is only for the brave.

Vietnamese cooking brings in anchovies with their Nuac Mom sauce. Try it if you have the chance. It is really good.

Anchovy Patam Peperium - a Gentleman's Relish

For a totally unique Anchovy derivative, the British Patam Peperium, a Gentleman's Paste or Relish is worth considering for your kitchen.

First created in 1823 [see recipe] it is the perfect condiment, elevating a pasta dish or barbequed steak, (awesome) and perfect with roast or raw vegetables, lamb chops or spread on ciabatta.

Feature Recipe

The feature recipe in this issue is Sicilian Crunchy Spaghetti with Anchovies, Fennel and Caraway Seed. Hope you enjoy putting the recipe together.

Stay well everyone Arthur Huxley

www.spiceroadspices.com.au