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Anchovies are tiny silver fish that are a member of the herring family, about 3 inches long, native to the Mediterranean and southern European coastlines. They are sold whole, and salt-0acked or, more commonly, filleted and packed in oil (olive oil is best). The most popular and tasty are the ones in olive oil and salt.

Filleted anchovies are ready to use, but always taste a newly opened can of anchovies before using in a recipe. If they are salty, rinse the fillets well in warm water, then pat dry on paper toweling. The oil in which the anchovies were packed should be discarded unless a recipe specifies otherwise (it will be too fishy and salty to use in the majority of recipes). Whole anchovies require more work to remove the heads, tails, and backbones. They also need to be rinsed of excess salt.

NOTE: If you are not familiar with strongly flavored ingredients such as anchovies, add them to your dish in very small amounts so that you can control the taste and balance the flavors.

Don't be tempted by bargain-priced anchovies because the really good ones are never cheap and the cheap ones are likely to be the really awful tasting ones that have give anchovies a bad name.

If using canned anchovies, don't keep the leftover ones in the tin. Remove them, curl them into rolls, put them in a small airtight container, cover them with extra-virgin olive oil, and refrigerate. For the most intense flavor, use within six months.

Anchovy paste is ground anchovy fillets ground to a paste, then blended with salt and a small amount of sugar (to mellow the flavor).

ANCHOVY PASTE:

1 (2 ounces) tube of anchovy paste equals about 5 tablespoons or 1/4 cup

1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste is equal to 2 anchovy fillets