In Greek: γαύρος μαρινάτος, say: GHAH-vrohs mah-ree-NAH-tos
This is a very basic recipe and, with your own inspiration, can be adapted to include other herbs and spices instead of the parsley. Some favorites include allspice, peppercorns, red pepper flakes, and oregano. The hardest part for some may be cleaning these very small fish. Be sure to have a good fillet knife on hand.
The recipe is easy, but does take time in order for the fish to cure.
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds (910 grams) of very fresh anchovies
- wine vinegar (red or white)
- 1 1/2 to 2 heads of garlic, broken into cloves, peeled, thinly sliced
- fresh flat-leaf parsley
- extra virgin olive oil
Preparation:
Remove anchovy scales by rubbing the fish gently under running water. Remove heads and intestines, rinse well, and drain.
Lay fish out in a glass or ceramic pan and add enough vinegar to cover. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Remove fish from vinegar and fillet, removing the bone.
Lay fillets, open side up, in layers in a flat-bottomed container (plastic or other). Sprinkle each layer generously with sliced garlic and parsley leaves before adding the next. Add enough oil to cover, cover the container and refrigerate for 1 day (minimum 2-3 hours) before serving.
Store in the refrigerator.
Yield: 4 appetizer (meze) servings of marinated anchovies
Serving notes:
- Hot peppers go very well with marinated anchovies - either whole, small slices, or in the form of Tabasco sauce.
- Try marinated anchovies as a topping on toasted or grilled bread.
Using coarse sea salt: Some cooks recommend an additional step, curing the fish in sea salt to remove the natural liquids, before the vinegar bath. To do this, the fish need to be filleted and bone removed. Layer the fish, filleted side down, in a glass or ceramic pan, coating each layer completely with coarse sea salt. Leave in the salt for 3 hours, rinse well, then continue with the vinegar bath.