Spain and Anchovies

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Spain and Anchovies

Post by jbart65 »

Just got back from a trip to Granada. The food as expected was terrific, but the anchovies spoil me.

Cantabrian anchovies are the best in the world. Bigger. Meatier. Plump. Firm. Less bitter, Not as salty. Just a more complex version ofthe stuff sold in the states. Had to bring me some home.

The only anchovies I've found in the U.S. of similar quality are Ortiz in a glass jar, but they are expensive and hard to find. Donastia is even better but almost as pricy. Even harder to find.

I've also got some from Italy in a big jar packed in salt. I'll have to fillet them myself, but it's worth it.
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Re: Spain and Anchovies

Post by gladius »

Mmmmm...
ever try Colatura di Alici di Cetara from Campania? I love it in allot of dishes.
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Re: Spain and Anchovies

Post by jbart65 »

Haven't tried it. Looked it up. Sounds like a more complex version of fish sauce. I plan to buy a bottle. Would work well in one my I-need-a-quick-sauce for pasta dinners. Olive oil, garlic, chili flakes and some Colatura after removing from heat. Dusting of parm and done. Yup.

Anchoas are on the menu everywhere in Granada. Deep fried is a specialty, but I didn't try it this time. Seemed ... not right to me. Maybe next visit

Spain is my favorite country in Europe to visit. Learning (really relearning) Spanish since I expect to travel more once my kids graduate from college. The food and the life style are inviting. That, and $2-$3 drinks. Even a glass of fine sherry usually costs no more than 3.5 euros!
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Re: Spain and Anchovies

Post by Kit Craft »

jbart65 wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 12:18 pm Haven't tried it. Looked it up. Sounds like a more complex version of fish sauce. I plan to buy a bottle. Would work well in one my I-need-a-quick-sauce for pasta dinners. Olive oil, garlic, chili flakes and some Colatura after removing from heat. Dusting of parm and done. Yup.

Anchoas are on the menu everywhere in Granada. Deep fried is a specialty, but I didn't try it this time. Seemed ... not right to me. Maybe next visit

Spain is my favorite country in Europe to visit. Learning (really relearning) Spanish since I expect to travel more once my kids graduate from college. The food and the life style are inviting. That, and $2-$3 drinks. Even a glass of fine sherry usually costs no more than 3.5 euros!
And at those prices you were in the expensive districts. Go to university towns or pubs in the countryside and you will get your fill for next to nothing. My wife and I could get all warm and fuzzy from drinks and get a full belly for under $20 Euros without even trying.

Pescadito de rey is something you should try. It is basically whole fried Anchovies but even smaller. It is like eating bar nuts, you can not stop! Bones and all. They call things like this pipas.

Trejos! Deep fried squid tentacles! My god are they good! Gambas al ajillo (head on but shelled prawns cooked in oil with garlic and cayenne). And who could forget Pulpo a la gallega! Yummy roasted octopus with paprika and oil. Patatas Bravas. Ensaladilla rusa. Damn it, I miss Spain!

You absolutely must go to La Boqueria in Barcelona. Might want to brush up on your Catalan though. :P Consider checking out La costa blanca someday. That is the area we lived in, well, most of the time. Lots of sea food, ocean, castles and even mountains. Madrid isn't half bad either. Then again, I also like Oviedo, Albacete, Castilla la mancha and so much more. I really loved Spain and traveled a lot. Also, if you are in Granada don't forget to check out Alhambra (the palace but the beer is great too!).

BTW, anchoas are a thing everywhere in Spain. If they don't have them at the bar/pub etc then they will have boquerones.

Sorry, you might already know all of this but this hit home for me and made the "feels" roll in!
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Re: Spain and Anchovies

Post by Bob Z »

Funny I just watched America Test Kitchen review of anchovies. The Ortiz in a jar came in second to King Oscar in a tin. And they are only a few bucks. Might be worth a try. I found em in my supermarket.
http://www.kingoscar.com/product/anchov ... olive-oil/
I planned on getting some for the added (umami) flavor they add to tomato sauces. Please let us know if you try them?
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Re: Spain and Anchovies

Post by mauichef »

Serious Eats also did a test and Ortiz came out on top.
http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/10/tast ... e-oil.html

It won the previous test in ATK too. Looks like King Oscar is worth a try though.
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Re: Spain and Anchovies

Post by gladius »

Interesting I use King Oscars (sourced from South American waters) routinely most but...they are a tad salty and need a soak before eating them straight out of the can but are awesome in dishes IF you adjust for the salt. In fact the day Jeffry posted, I was inspired and made a red meat sauce with shiitake's and spaghetti adding a few King Oscar anchovies and Colatura.

Note gratuitous appearance by my Shigefusa 210mm Santoku:

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Northern Spain is known to be a good source of tasty anchovies. This thread makes me want to plan a trip. My brother toured Spain and he loved it - said the women were some of the most beautiful in Europe. My surname is Basque and Donostia is where I'd like to visit, maybe try and reach out to relatives. I understand the food scene is tops and boasts the second highest concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants per capita in the world! Bourdain recently did a show on San Sebastian.
Q. And your favorite spot in Europe?

A. You’d have a hard time finding anything better than Barcelona for food, as far as being a hub. Given a choice between Barcelona and San Sebastián to die in, I’d probably want to die in San Sebastián. --Anthony Bourdain
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Re: Spain and Anchovies

Post by Kit Craft »

gladius wrote: Sat Nov 18, 2017 7:53 pm Interesting I use King Oscars (sourced from South American waters) routinely most but...they are a tad salty and need a soak before eating them straight out of the can but are awesome in dishes IF you adjust for the salt. In fact the day Jeffry posted, I was inspired and made a red meat sauce with shiitake's and spaghetti adding a few King Oscar anchovies and Colatura.

Note gratuitous appearance by my Shigefusa 210mm Santoku:

Image

Northern Spain is known to be a good source of tasty anchovies. This thread makes me want to plan a trip. My brother toured Spain and he loved it - said the women were some of the most beautiful in Europe. My surname is Basque and Donostia is where I'd like to visit, maybe try and reach out to relatives. I understand the food scene is tops and boasts the second highest concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants per capita in the world! Bourdain recently did a show on San Sebastian.
Q. And your favorite spot in Europe?

A. You’d have a hard time finding anything better than Barcelona for food, as far as being a hub. Given a choice between Barcelona and San Sebastián to die in, I’d probably want to die in San Sebastián. --Anthony Bourdain
Ocho apellidos vascos, you say? Take a second stomach because you are going to need it. My brother in-law is Basque and boy do they sure know how to eat!
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Re: Spain and Anchovies

Post by jbart65 »

Lot of stuff worthy of comment. I'll stick to anchovies for the moment.

The best anchovies come from the coast of northern Spain in the Cantabria region and from small pockets of water along the southern coast of Spain and northwestern Italy. They tend to be somewhat larger, meatier and milder. Very balanced, like a fine French red.

Cheaper anchovies tend to be imbalanced. Harsher, more astringest and salted more heavily. Still perfectly fine, indeed excellent, for pizza and sauces, but not as good on their own,

Most anchovies on the US market are packaged in Morrocco. They tend to come further off the southern coast of Spain or Northwestern Italy.

I couldn't find the source for restaurants in Granada, but the anchovies I encountered were of the highest quality. They ran about 3-4 inches long and were about an 1 1/4 inches wide at the widest point. Each one was about the mass of 3-4 anchovies from a jar sold in the U.S.

I haven't tried King Oscar but I will search them out. I'd be skeptical if they were as good as Ortiz. Ortiz are about the best I've found in the US. I've got an Italian brand that is also expensive and perhaps even better. I'll have to do a taste test.

I brought back three different brands from Granada and the cheapest I tried was possibly as good as Ortiz. To me, quality anchovies are one of the best cooking ingredients to work with. They can transform many things.
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Re: Spain and Anchovies

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Kit Craft wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 4:53 pm Trejos! Deep fried squid tentacles! My god are they good! Gambas al ajillo (head on but shelled prawns cooked in oil with garlic and cayenne). And who could forget Pulpo a la gallega! Yummy roasted octopus with paprika and oil. Patatas Bravas. Ensaladilla rusa. Damn it, I miss Spain! ...Sorry, you might already know all of this but this hit home for me and made the "feels" roll in!
Miss Spain much, Kit! (-:

I’ve traveled through most of Spain with the exception of the Galicia region in the Northwest corner.

Barca is my favorite city and one of my two favorite places in Europe (Amsterdam is the other). Madrid is romantic, but I found the people more reserved than in other parts of the country.

Granada is a university town, it turns out. Some 90,000 students attend the Universidad de Granada, including my son on exchange. That’s why we visited. The city has about 250,000 people but I am not sure if students are included in the population.

I’ll get the fried anchovies next time I go back. I did eat pulpo a la gallega a few times and it was quite good. One version was served with an amazing version of mashed or pureed patatas.

I also do a darned good version of gambas al ajillo that I’ve making at home for years, served with homemade bread. And I made patatas bravas a few months ago for the first time and it came out quite well.

My wife and I did the official tour of the Alhambra and we had a great guide. Really well worth it. I read three histories of Spain and a bio of Franco before this trip to get more familiar with the country.

Fascinating if mostly sad history. These are probably the best of times for Spain, but it’s still not satisfying enough for many Spaniards as we’ve seen from the recent crisis in Catalonia.

We’ll go back again, of course. Probably Sevilla or Barca the next time. I am studying Spanish about 2 hours every day. Hope to get to the point at which my son and I can converse most of the time in Spanish.
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Re: Spain and Anchovies

Post by Kit Craft »

jbart65 wrote: Mon Nov 20, 2017 10:37 am
Kit Craft wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 4:53 pm Trejos! Deep fried squid tentacles! My god are they good! Gambas al ajillo (head on but shelled prawns cooked in oil with garlic and cayenne). And who could forget Pulpo a la gallega! Yummy roasted octopus with paprika and oil. Patatas Bravas. Ensaladilla rusa. Damn it, I miss Spain! ...Sorry, you might already know all of this but this hit home for me and made the "feels" roll in!
Miss Spain much, Kit! (-:

I’ve traveled through most of Spain with the exception of the Galicia region in the Northwest corner.

Barca is my favorite city and one of my two favorite places in Europe (Amsterdam is the other). Madrid is romantic, but I found the people more reserved than in other parts of the country.

Granada is a university town, it turns out. Some 90,000 students attend the Universidad de Granada, including my son on exchange. That’s why we visited. The city has about 250,000 people but I am not sure if students are included in the population.

I’ll get the fried anchovies next time I go back. I did eat pulpo a la gallega a few times and it was quite good. One version was served with an amazing version of mashed or pureed patatas.

I also do a darned good version of gambas al ajillo that I’ve making at home for years, served with homemade bread. And I made patatas bravas a few months ago for the first time and it came out quite well.

My wife and I did the official tour of the Alhambra and we had a great guide. Really well worth it. I read three histories of Spain and a bio of Franco before this trip to get more familiar with the country.

Fascinating if mostly sad history. These are probably the best of times for Spain, but it’s still not satisfying enough for many Spaniards as we’ve seen from the recent crisis in Catalonia.

We’ll go back again, of course. Probably Sevilla or Barca the next time. I am studying Spanish about 2 hours every day. Hope to get to the point at which my son and I can converse most of the time in Spanish.
I do indeed miss it more than I thought I would. I was fairly young when I moved there. 23 going on 24 and so I spent most of my adult life there. We are going back to visit my mother in-law next year. We shall see if we even come back to the states... :lol:

Sounds like you have all of your bases covered! I couldn't agree more about Madrid. My wife has friends and family all over Spain and in Portugal as well so we did loads of travelling. Being into food that is what I most remember.

Ah, I suppose you are right about being a University town. I lived in a smaller one and things were just so cheap. They ran so many "student specials".

Something to consider is going back during a festival season if you have not. Fallas in Valencia or Moros y Cristianos in Alcoy. Tons of fun, food and drink to be had.

History in Spain is an interesting one for sure. I suppose they have lots of history around the world throughout different periods which makes it quite exciting.

That aside, I don't think I have ever visited a country of more friendly people. I was treated very well by all from day one until I left. Lots of beers bought and conversations on the differences between our nations. Having had the opportunity to be a teacher and a tutor helped as well. I got to meet loads of people and have these conversations. Alicante is a hub as well, loads of immigrants and myself included.

I could talk Spain all day...
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Re: Spain and Anchovies

Post by jbart65 »

Damn, that pasta dish looks delicious, Gladius. Shiitake and anchovies add quite the punch.

All your heard is true. San Sebastian is a superb city and well worth a visit. Arguably it’s the best marriage of new world and old world in Spain. I plan to go back there within the next few years.

Unlike southern Spain, though, it never really gets very hot. Very temperate climate.
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Re: Spain and Anchovies

Post by mauichef »

Kit Craft wrote: Mon Nov 20, 2017 10:52 am
I do indeed miss it more than I thought I would. I was fairly young when I moved there. 23 going on 24 and so I spent most of my adult life there. We are going back to visit my mother in-law next year. We shall see if we even come back to the states... :lol:

Sounds like you have all of your bases covered! I couldn't agree more about Madrid. My wife has friends and family all over Spain and in Portugal as well so we did loads of travelling. Being into food that is what I most remember.

Ah, I suppose you are right about being a University town. I lived in a smaller one and things were just so cheap. They ran so many "student specials".

Something to consider is going back during a festival season if you have not. Fallas in Valencia or Moros y Cristianos in Alcoy. Tons of fun, food and drink to be had.

History in Spain is an interesting one for sure. I suppose they have lots of history around the world throughout different periods which makes it quite exciting.

That aside, I don't think I have ever visited a country of more friendly people. I was treated very well by all from day one until I left. Lots of beers bought and conversations on the differences between our nations. Having had the opportunity to be a teacher and a tutor helped as well. I got to meet loads of people and have these conversations. Alicante is a hub as well, loads of immigrants and myself included.

I could talk Spain all day...
When we sell our house, which is on the market right now, we will be traveling to Spain and Portugal for an extended visit. The plan being to move there permanently. Possibly Portugal...but more likely Spain.
I have a good friend who owns several restaurants in Barca so that will be a good start for us to meet people and get some inside scoops.
We want to be near the coast but well away from any tourist spots
So, Kit and Jeff, anything you can tell me about it would be gratefully received.
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Re: Spain and Anchovies

Post by Kit Craft »

mauichef wrote: Mon Nov 20, 2017 2:17 pm
Kit Craft wrote: Mon Nov 20, 2017 10:52 am
I do indeed miss it more than I thought I would. I was fairly young when I moved there. 23 going on 24 and so I spent most of my adult life there. We are going back to visit my mother in-law next year. We shall see if we even come back to the states... :lol:

Sounds like you have all of your bases covered! I couldn't agree more about Madrid. My wife has friends and family all over Spain and in Portugal as well so we did loads of travelling. Being into food that is what I most remember.

Ah, I suppose you are right about being a University town. I lived in a smaller one and things were just so cheap. They ran so many "student specials".

Something to consider is going back during a festival season if you have not. Fallas in Valencia or Moros y Cristianos in Alcoy. Tons of fun, food and drink to be had.

History in Spain is an interesting one for sure. I suppose they have lots of history around the world throughout different periods which makes it quite exciting.

That aside, I don't think I have ever visited a country of more friendly people. I was treated very well by all from day one until I left. Lots of beers bought and conversations on the differences between our nations. Having had the opportunity to be a teacher and a tutor helped as well. I got to meet loads of people and have these conversations. Alicante is a hub as well, loads of immigrants and myself included.

I could talk Spain all day...
When we sell our house, which is on the market right now, we will be traveling to Spain and Portugal for an extended visit. The plan being to move there permanently. Possibly Portugal...but more likely Spain.
I have a good friend who owns several restaurants in Barca so that will be a good start for us to meet people and get some inside scoops.
We want to be near the coast but well away from any tourist spots
So, Kit and Jeff, anything you can tell me about it would be gratefully received.
I am most familiar with the Costa Blanca area. Alicante is a nice medium sized city with lots of fun places to hang out, fairly good food but not the best in Spain by any means, fair cost of living and is close to a lot of beach cities. The problem with the beach itself is that most spots that I can recall were very touristic. Even many of the shops are owed and run by fellas from the UK, mostly. That would be cities like Benidorm. You also have smaller cities that are coastal such as Altea, San Juan and Villa Joyosa, which attract tourists during the summer for a few weeks to a month but not year round.

If you move inland a bit you can still be an hour or less from the cost itself but enjoy the mountains as well! Alcoy is a favorite of mine. Then you have Oviedo, which is marvelous and about 40 minutes from the coast. Here you will enjoy local "workers" pubs and bars! That means heavy food and lots of it for little cost. Brilliant wild mushrooms. Lots of greenery to enjoy and hard cider! Or consider Gijon, which is directly on the coast.

If you want to live in a fishing town built into the mountain side overlooking the bay consider Las Tres. Cudillro is one I have not visited by my wife says is great. There is a culture of doing water activities from the river to the sea, she tells me. She says Malaga is very nice as well, sadly I have not been there. But she breaks coastal down to beach/tourism or fishing towns(my favorite).

Thing is, I am a forestry type person.

I think all of these are fairly touristic during the summer...

To get away from that with the places that I have been you have to go live with the goats out in Riopar or Albacete. Totally being literal too.

If you are curious about anything specific or any regions I would be happy to tell you what I know and rack my wife's brain too, she said she does not mind.
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Re: Spain and Anchovies

Post by mauichef »

Many thanks Kit. I certainly will do that.
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Re: Spain and Anchovies

Post by jbart65 »

Can't say I can offer any value in terms of where to live. Kit does seem to have an aversion to touristy areas and I understand. But tourism has always been Spain's economic lifeline, especially since WW2. I've found that real Spain and tourism can live side by side without much trouble. Those areas are just more costly.

Kit, I infer that your wife is from Spain, no?

One thing to keep in mind is whether or how often you plan to fly back to the States. No so bad if you are visiting NYC from Barca or Madrid, but after that the connections and flight time multiply.

From a strategic standpoint, Barca is the best launching pad to the rest of Europe. San Sebastian is good too.
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Re: Spain and Anchovies

Post by Kit Craft »

jbart65 wrote: Mon Nov 20, 2017 4:07 pm Can't say I can offer any value in terms of where to live. Kit does seem to have an aversion to touristy areas and I understand. But tourism has always been Spain's economic lifeline, especially since WW2. I've found that real Spain and tourism can live side by side without much trouble. Those areas are just more costly.

Kit, I infer that your wife is from Spain, no?

One thing to keep in mind is whether or how often you plan to fly back to the States. No so bad if you are visiting NYC from Barca or Madrid, but after that the connections and flight time multiply.

From a strategic standpoint, Barca is the best launching pad to the rest of Europe. San Sebastian is good too.
Yes, it is HARD to avoid tourism in Spain. Idk, if a lot of it is real tourism or not. Lots of UK retirees live Spain and particularly on the coast. Can't say I blame them though!

Yes, my wife is from Alcoy Spain. She has lived in England, Ireland, Italy and Turkey though. Well, and now the USA.

As for the touristic vs not, the two are very much intertwined. Take Toledo for example. There is Toledo and then there is "el barrio antiguo", which is the old town. Interesting place filled with knife making (a plus), blacksmithing in general, and all kinds other stuff. It is, now, very touristic but very much worth seeing. Just go in April... :mrgreen:

It is all places that I can recall too. There is the old and new district and which is touristic depends on where you are at and who the target group of tourists will be.

One thing to note about Spain, it really is like a bunch of little nations. While a lot of culture is shared across the country each region has their own culture and even language. Then there are dialects of said language. Even neighboring towns will have a vocabulary different enough that it matters, in some places. Alcoy, Cocentanina and Murcia all Speak Valenciano, a dialect of Catalan, but it is fairly different. Now, everyone still speaks Spanish so it is no issue as long as you do. But it goes beyond that with having different regional holidays, foods, customs etc. Sure, here in the states Ohio and Texas differ but I don't feel it is the same thing.

As for flights, yeah, my trip home was always 36+ hours due to layovers and such. That or pay 5k per ticket... :lol: Do you know how many tapas I can eat for 5000 bones?
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Re: Spain and Anchovies

Post by gladius »

15% off King Oscar Anchovies if anyone is interested...

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/r.html?C=Z4 ... ommended_1

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Re: Spain and Anchovies

Post by Ut_ron »

Anchovies? The can says sardines , I am so confused 🤷‍♀️
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Re: Spain and Anchovies

Post by gladius »

Ut_ron wrote: Tue Nov 21, 2017 11:15 pm Anchovies? The can says sardines , I am so confused 🤷‍♀️
----
You are not, I didn't read it right. Coupon is for King Oscar Sardines and Mackerel - thought it included Anchovies too, the cans look similar.
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