Anchovies forever: a lunch with one theme and many tastes!

Today was a hot day.

A hot day invites light food.

I like tasty food.

I therefore had to prepare something light and tasty.

The theme to the lunch was given by the anchovies I bought from my fishmonger the other day.

As he said: “they are well bred and come from good waters.”

I made two dishes. The first with salt cured anchovies. I cured them lightly, less than 24 hours. (In the photo above, you can see how moist the flesh is.)

Their partner for the dish were blanched green beans, dressed with a light mustard aioli mayonnaise.

I like to add some mustard to the aioli, it gives it some extra kick, and the colour is divine (I use Dijon mustard).

I only added some lemon juice to the dish. No vinegar is allowed! It kills the taste of the anchovy.

The second dish was built around fried anchovies.

Accompanied by boiled beetroot and fresh garden tomatoes, green peppers, and dry sliced onions.

These orange cherry tomatoes are delicious, and they provide the best partner to the sweetness of the beetroot.

The beetroot was served with olive oil, a touch of lemon juice, and finely chopped garlic.

Both dishes go very well with my favourite Greek white wine, assyrtico from Santorini. Just perfect!