Many years ago I resolved never to bother with New Year’s resolutions, and I’ve stuck with it ever since. ~ Dave Beard
“A” is for anchovy, don’t run and hide as this is one fabulous recipe, but I must admit that it all started with Giada’s Italian style chicken recipe from “Feel Good Food” in which she incorporates anchovy paste and a bunch of fresh herbs that I just didn’t have on hand and no, after many trips to the grocery stores over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday, I wanted to just roast the darn chicken and make it as flavorful as possible, enter an upcoming trend for 2020, anchovies, “Packed with umami goodness, the ‘bacon of the sea’ is the unsung hero of many dishes.”
I really think that thee highlight of the dish for Michael was the toasted french bread “croutons” that were tossed into the pan to soak of some of the fat and juices, sounds obscene, but delicious. I did take the time to drain the pan juice leaving a thin layer of the fat in the pan, tossed in the croutons, and then drizzled some of the pan juices over, and yes a little fat or they would not get a nice tan!
So armed with a few fresh herbs – the rest dried, a can of anchovies since had no anchovy paste, I was determined to roast a whole chicken so that we could have plenty left for a couple of easy pickin’ meals while undergoing a big painting project throughout the entire first floor of our home including the kitchen and dining room. With everything gathered and ready to go I bounced over to Nigella’s for a similar take on the anchovy chicken, but with a different take using a whole chicken. Easy enough to apply the same ingredients, but I preferred the butter ingredient and the “fat croutons” a big bonus to capture all of the flavorful goodies from the roasting pan with a final crisp up time before serving. Link to Giada’s recipe below…
Bittman’s pasta with anchovies and tomatoes is a great side dish…
chopped fresh parsley
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it for the pasta — you should be able to make the entire recipe as the pasta cooks.
- Put olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat; a minute later, add garlic and chilies, if using — cook garlic so it bubbles gently.
- When it is lightly browned all over, add anchovies and cook, stirring occasionally, for about a minute, until anchovies begin to fall apart, then add tomatoes.
- Adjust heat so tomatoes bubble nicely, and cook until the mixture becomes saucy about 5 minutes.
- Taste and add salt and pepper as necessary (taste first because the anchovies can contribute plenty of salt).
- Meanwhile, cook pasta until tender but not mushy. When it is done, drain it, reserving a little cooking water to thin sauce if necessary. Serve pasta with sauce and parsley. Cook pasta until tender but not mushy. When it is done, drain it, reserving a little cooking water to thin sauce if necessary. Serve pasta with sauce and parsley
Anchovy Butter Chicken – adapted from Nigella Anchovy-Butter Chicken with Chicken Fat Croutons/guest chef Alison
Serves: 4
1-4 lb chicken
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
Instead of the salt and pepper, I used that fabulous Montreal Chicken Seasoning
4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened and I need about 1/2 tablespoon more as my chicken was a big fat one
10 anchovy fillets (finely chopped, 1 small can, drained and rinsed if you like
2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
1 head of garlic (halved crosswise)
½ bunch fresh thyme, marjoram, oregano and/or rosemary, I used a blend of fresh and dried herbs
2 small red onions or large shallots (unpeeled and quartered) Shallots were nice
½ loaf of crusty bread (torn into 2-inch pieces), thick slices of french bread
½ cup fresh parsley (coarsely chopped)
Anchovy-Butter Chicken with Chicken Fat Croutons is a guest recipe by Alison Roman so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. I lowered my oven to 400º and turned the pan often to even brown or to get around all of the sides as much as [ossible.
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season it with salt and lots of pepper; let it hang out while you make the anchovy butter.
- Smash the butter, anchovies, and chopped garlic together in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. Smear the chicken all over and inside with this butter blend. Smear the butter under the skin
- Stuff the chicken cavity with the halved garlic and herbs, tie legs together and place the bird in a large skillet. Scatter the shallots or onions around the chicken and roast until the bird starts to brown, 25 to 35 minutes. Toss the onions around to coat them in whatever amazing fat has dripped off the chicken. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue to roast until the chicken is cooked through and the onions are gloriously golden, another 25 to 30 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board or large serving platter, leaving the juices and onions behind. Increase the oven temperature to 425°F (ugh, I know, annoying—just do it, though) and toss the bread in all the glorious fat and cooking juices on the baking sheet, making sure the pieces are soaking up all the business left behind. Return the baking sheet to the oven to crisp up the bread, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve this alongside the chicken, with the roasted onions and parsley scattered around and on top.
Link to Giada’s Southern Italian Style Chicken as presented by:
Link to Nigella’s Anchovy Butter chicken:
Link to Bittman’s pasta with anchovies and tomatoes
Cucina Magia 
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