Fried anchovies stuffed with mortadella and tuna

Imagine about a dozen of these together and you might easily see the resemblance to an unfortunate bunch of little birds that crossed the path of a guillotine. But the ingredients are not from anything that once flew and I was tempted to call them 'fished birds', or uccelli pescati. That would've been a playful pun on words and a complete opposite to the lombardian dish uccelli scappati (escaped birds) that has neither fish nor fowl in them.

Since fresh anchovies were available this weekend, I wanted to try this recipe which I've seen demonstrated on tv. But before going on, given my weakness for seafood, I'd like to make mention of a site that has been recently introduced to me. Although my entries are often based on cultural events in Italy, the Seven Fishes Blog might be of interest to readers familiar with italian-american culture in the states. As a sort of "'thumbs up" toward the blog, included are 7 fish images in this post, thanks to the help of my husband.

Recipe

24 large, fresh anchovies
4 oz. mortadella, cubed
1/2 cup canned tuna (water or oil-packed), drained
4-5 slices (4 oz.) of stale, white bread
1 cup milk
1 large egg
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons fresh marjoram (or 1 teaspoon dried)
2 heaping tablespoons of grated grana cheese
pinch of salt
oil for frying

First thing to do is to soak the stale bread slices in a bowl of milk. When it has softened and absorbed enough liquid, squeeze dry and set aside to use in the filling.

1. To clean the fish: The following photos show how easy it is to clean anchovies. Break the head away from the body, extracting the interior sac. To open, insert thumb into the fish and carefully slide along the belly. Remove the spine by slipping forefinger underneath and snap/pinch with thumb and forefinger. Pull away from tail to front end.

2. Making the filling: In a food processor, combine the cubed mortadella, drained tuna, and squeezed bread to a coarse grind. Add the egg, garlic, marjoram, grana, and salt. Process to combine well but not until smooth. Divide into 24 portions and firmly press into the cavity of the fish.

3. Fill a deep fat fryer or heavy skillet with enough oil to emerge the fish. Preheat to 375 degrees and fry until golden, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels and serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice. These are really, really good.

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Saved comment(s)

I'm thinking of going with minced shrimp and pork, or crab and shrimp filling the next time. Maybe with some water chestnuts and green onions too for a more "local" flavor.
~rowena~ | 11.15.06 - 9:47 am

Very interesting post! We have a dish here where we stuff bell peppers with a minced iwashi (sardine) or minced pork. This sounds delicious!
Kat | Homepage | 11.14.06 - 1:25 am