Anchovy Sauce
A historical recipe from The Italian Cook Book The Art of Eating Well, by Maria Gentile (1919).
A historical recipe
The Italian Cook Book The Art of Eating Well; Practical Recipes of the Italian Cuisine, Pastries, Sweets, Frozen Delicacies, and Syrups, by Maria Gentile (1919). Project Gutenberg eBook #24407.
From an old book: a historical recipe, not current advice. Its methods, additives and storage may be unsafe by today's standards.
Italy
Known as an Italian recipe, with similar versions prepared across other nations.
Ingredients 2 ingredients
- two tablespoons of butter
- one pound of spaghetti
Cook safely
Keep children and pets away from the hob and the oven, and keep oven gloves and a lid within reach.
- Boiling water and steam. Turn pan handles inward, away from the edge of the hob. Lift lids away from you, and pour hot water away from your body: steam burns too.
- Sharp knives. Cut on a board that doesn't slip (a damp cloth under it helps), and curl the fingers of the hand that holds the food.
Method
Chef Wood
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- (Salsa d'Acciughe) This recipe does not call for the filets of anchovies prepared for hors d'oeuvre, but the less expensive and larger whole anchovies in salt to be had in bulk or cans at large dealers.
- Wash them thoroughly in plenty of water.
- Remove head, tail, backbone and skin and they are ready for use.
- Put five or six anchovies into a colander and dip quickly into boiling water to loosen the skins, remove the salt, skin and bone them.
- Chop them and put over the fire in a saucepan with a generous quantity of oil and some pepper.
- Do not let them boil, but when they are hot add two tablespoons of butter and three or four tablespoons of concentrated tomato juice made by cooking down canned tomatoes and rubbing through a sieve.
- When this sauce is used to season spaghetti, these must be boiled in water that is only slightly salted and care must be taken not to let them become too soft.
- The quantities above mentioned ought to be sufficient for about one pound of spaghetti.
Plating
Cookware for this recipe
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Saucepan
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Chef's knife
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Cutting board
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Sieve
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Colander