Even through anchovies are salty, and blow out my sodium to potassium ratio, I just love these little fishes. Here is how I make an anchovy sandwich. I use rice crackers or thin Scandinavian wheat or rye bread. It is think crunchy and light. Either that or pumpernickel dark bread or deli rye.
There are 144 different types of anchovies
- Because of the saltines other ingredients you use should be fresh not overwhelming. Mozzarella would ease the saltines, but it would not cancel the taste. Since this cheese is juicy it is good with bread and a nice complement to these small fish. Fresh basil or rucola is very good for this taste also, I load it on and it also helps moderate the salt taste.
If you want to have a spread on the sandwich you could mix it with avocado and mix chopped very small pieces of anchovies and some Italian herbs.
Basically anything you can do with a sardine you can do with an anchovy. They can be packed in oil or water or in tomato sauce. The northern ones are cleaner than the southern ones. The smaller the more intensive the taste. Most of these Engraulidae fish come from Peru now. They are the main exporter. The Italians who have been eating these little fish since Roman time or before like it alici or fresh which is mild.
There are anchovy pastes which you can spread on bread but I am not into these as they are usually lower quality and even more salt and additive. Your better off getting a hand mixer and making your own. Paste is just an excuse for food marketers to make money off of you because of a seemingly lower price. If you can ever get them fresh you can fry them like sardines and add basil and butter and these alone on the sandwich make a good meal.
The are known as an oily fish and you do not need a lot of mayo, and if you really want to add anything I recommend something like olive oil to mix with it.
If you do not like the salt of anchovies you can wash them. You can not get all the salt off, but a lot of them. I wash them in a spaghetti strainer. I remember in college when I ordered double anchovy pizza I was made to eat it out in the hall. Let me know what you think of anchovy sandwich ideas?
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