How to make anchovy pizza
By Matthew Martinez
Anchovy pizza is an item made with the cooking skill at level 55. It is made by combining cooked anchovies with a cooked plain pizza, granting 39 Cooking experience. Anchovy pizzas heal 18 hitpoints total, 9 hitpoints per half.
Plain pizzas are sold at the Warriors’ guild, for a very cheap price (47 each). A bank is very close, so players may choose to buy plain pizzas and bank them to make anchovy pizzas instead of making plain pizzas themselves.
Similarly to Cooked karambwans, the first eat of the anchovy pizza has a short eat time, and are therefore used by free-to-play player killers to double eat in combination with swordfish to heal a total of 23. They are also the highest healing per slot food in free-to-play.
Seafood appetizer with olives, onions, and anchovies
This French Anchovy Pizza – called “Pissaladière” in Southern France where every bakery creates its own special version – combines small strips of anchovies with black olives, caramelized onions, and an olive oil-enriched crust.
A food processor makes the dough of this delicious seafood appetizer fast and easy to prepare.
Onions need to simmer slowly on the stove for about 20 minutes, turning sweet for the perfect contrast the saltiness of the olives and anchovies.
We like to cut this delicious anchovy pizza into small pieces to serve as a seafood appetizer before dinner, or even better, at parties.
Some people do claim to hate anchovies . until they taste this pizza and then demand a 2nd and even a 3rd piece.
We also sometimes make this pizza for Sunday lunch and serve it with a green salad.
If you’re in a rush, you can use store-bought dough to make this anchovy pizza, although frankly, our recipe is better if you have a few extra minutes to make it.
French anchovy pizza recipe
Makes 1 large pizza.
For the dough:
- 1 envelope (2 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 cups white flour
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
For the topping:
- 4 oz fresh (salted or unsalted) or canned anchovy fillets
- about 40 small black olives, pits removed (we usually use Kalamata olives)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 6 medium onions, cut into medium (1/4 inch) slices
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves (2 tablespoons fresh)
- 1 teaspoon coarse-ground sea salt (only if using fresh unsalted anchovies)
Additional olive oil for oiling the bowl and baking sheet
For baking, you’ll need a baking sheet
Make the crust
Preheat your oven to 425°.
Put the yeast, sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, milk, and water into a food processor fitted with the plastic (dough) blade. Let stand for about 10 minutes until the mixture turns frothy.
Add the egg, olive oil, salt, and remaining flour. Process until a smooth ball forms. If too sticky or dry, add a little more water or flour to adjust. Process 2 more minutes to make the dough elastic.
Lightly oil a large bowl, and put the dough in it. Cover with a dish towel, and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour.
While the dough is rising, put 6 tablespoons olive oil, the onion slices, bay leaves, and half the thyme into a large skillet, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions turn sweet and become a pale golden color. This usually takes about 20-30 minutes, depending on the onions. Don’t let them brown or burn! When they’re finished, remove the bay leaves.
Once the dough has risen, punch it down and shape it into a ball. Flatten the ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll it into a circle, square, oval, or free-form shape.
Lightly oil the baking sheet with a little olive oil, and carefully slide the dough onto it. Use your fingertips to “dimple” the dough. Bake for 8 minutes, until partly risen, and remove from oven
Now for the fun part . . . Decorate!
Spread the onions across the dough, up to the edges. Take the anchovy fillets, and create a criss-cross pattern to form diamonds, like in the photo. If you’re using fresh anchovies, you may need to halve them lengthwise to form thinner strips.
Add the olives, putting them within the diamonds. In France, some bakeries leave the pits in the olives, but we always remove them. You can do this easily by lightly smashing them with the bottom of a cup, which causes the pits to pop right out.
Sprinkle the remaining thyme leaves across the top. If you’re using fresh unsalted olives, sprinkle coarse-ground sea salt across the top as well.
Bake your anchovy pizza – pissaladière – for 10-12 minutes, until the edges of the crust turn brown and it becomes slightly bubbly on top. Serve hot.
| serves: | 4 |
| Skill: | easy |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Cooking: | 10 min |
Salty anchovy and rich smoked salmon are made even more yummy with the addition of cream cheese and capers. To finish it off, some fresh lemon zest adds some extra zing. This may not be exactly like ‘mamma use to make’, but we reckon she would still want the recipe!
Ingredients
- ½tbsp capers, roughly chopped
- 30g anchovies, roughly chopped
- Large pinch dried red chilli
- 1tbsp olive oil plus extra for drizzling
- 1 tbsp lemon juice plus 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1x pizza base
- 1x jar pizza sauce
- 100g cream cheese
- 70g smoked salmon, shredded
- Fresh dill
- Fresh ground black pepper
Method
Combine the capers, anchovies and chilli in a small bowl along with the lemon juice and Tbsp olive oil. Leave to sit for 10 mins for the flavours to infuse.
Pre-heat the oven to 425F/220C/Electric Fan 200C/Gas Mark 7. Spread some of the sauce on top of the pizza base and dollop on the cream cheese. Scatter over the anchovy mix and shredded smoked salmon. Put the pizza directly onto the top shelf and cook for 8-10 minutes or as long as the instructions for the pizza base gives, based on pizza toppings.
Take out of the oven and finish off with some fresh dill, a sprinkle of lemon zest and some crushed black pepper along with a drizzle of olive oil.
Top tip for making Salmon, anchovy and caper pizza
Don’t be tempted to add too much salt, if any to this pizza. The mixture of anchovy and capers should give more than enough of a salty hit!
Here is an easy recipe to enjoy a pizza with anchovies. Ideal for a convivial meal with the family.
- Preparation time : 15 minutes
- Cooking time : 25 minutes
- Recipe for : PERSONS
- 1 anchovy fillets in oil
- 1 jar of tomato sauce
- 2 onions
- 12 black olives
- 5 basil leaves
- ½ mozzarella ball
- 2 tablespoons emmental cheese, grated
- 1 ready-to-use pizza dough
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (th . 6).
2. Peel and slice the onions. Drain the anchovies. Wash, dry and chop basil. Cut the mozzarella into small cubes.
3. Roll out the pizza dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pour the tomato sauce. Add the mozzarella , onions and anchovies. Salt and pepper. Sprinkle with Emmental cheese , black olives and basil.
4. Bake for about 25 minutes. Serve immediately .
Reclaim: 84
Sacrifice: 336
Anchovy pizza is a food item created when adding cooked anchovies to a plain pizza. It requires level 55 Cooking and provides 39 experience. If made from scratch, it provides 184 experience. It heals up to 1,374 life points in two bites, healing 687 life points each; this makes it the second highest healing tradeable free-to-play food, with swordfish being the best with a healing of 1,400 life points.
However, when combined with expensive spices, it heals an additional 100 life points because it is a two-bite food, thus making this the highest-healing item with expensive spices.
As with all two-bite free-to-play foods (excluding 2/3 cake or 2/3 chocolate cake), the first bite can be consumed with a lower delay than other foods, allowing it and the second bite (or a different food) to be consumed in the same amount of time that a single piece of standard food can be eaten. This ability is often exploited in free-to-play PvP situations, where players avoid knockout blows by eating the first half of a pizza along with a swordfish to heal a total of 2087 life points. Alternatively, it is often used to “tank” clans by eating several first halves to quickly heal.
Although combining anchovies and plain pizzas gives the player experience, the action will not fill a cooking urn.
The minimum Constitution level to receive the full amount of healing from this food is 55.
| Enter your Constitution level | name=skillstat_Constitution_level|type=int|value=1|range=9,99|size=4|sublist=calchealing |
| name=healing|type=output | |
let(minLevel, 55) let(healAmount, 0) let(healAmountOutOfCombat, 0) let(healOverTimeAmount, 0) let(healOverTimeDuration, 0) let(constitutionLevel, skillstat_Constitution_level) let(itemName, “This”)
If anchovies gross you out, know this: Compared to what people ate before there were anchovies, they’re practically cake and ice cream.
Because until about the 16th century there were no anchovies as we know them today. That is, small silvery fish that are boned, salt-cured and packed in oil.
Instead, there was garum — the juice of salted and fermented fish guts. Garum lost favor about 500 years ago when people learned how to make anchovies.
Can’t imagine why.
Anchovies, however, are not a singular fish. Most cuisines around the world have their own “anchovy,” most of which tend to be variants of one variety of fish, a relative of the herring.
Easy. They are flavor bombs that lend serious “wow!” to whatever they are added to. And the good news is that the flavor they add isn’t even a little fishy.
Here’s why. After months of salt-curing, the dominant flavors in anchovies come from enzymes and good bacteria, not the flesh itself (of which there is little).
The result is an intense blend of fatty, salty, savory, meaty and even a bit of cheesy flavor.
Even better, when you cook them, anchovies dissolve, leaving behind a massive savory flavor but no evidence that any fish were harmed in the making.
Anchovies are widely used in the cuisines of Spain, Portugal, Italy and France. In Turkey they are so prized they have inspired volumes of poetry, even folk dances.
That is some serious anchovy love.
Even if you don’t like them dumped on pizzas, chances are you’ve eaten plenty of anchovies: They are a critical ingredient for Caesar salad and olive tapenade.
You’ll generally find anchovies alongside the Italian foods or with tuna. Most varieties are packed in oil in cans or jars. Some delis also sell salt-packed anchovies, but these sometimes need to be boned and should always be rinsed.
Many grocers also sell anchovy paste, which is ground anchovies blended with oil and sometimes seasonings. The pastes are fine in a pinch, but whole anchovies tend to have better flavor.
Unopened cans can be stored at room temperature for a year; opened cans can be refrigerated for a week or two.
So what should you do with them? Whatever you decide, take it easy. Anchovies are a rich and salty food; start with a little and taste.
• Tapenade (olive spread) is a no-brainer. In a food processor, combine kalamata olives, a few anchovies, some capers, fresh thyme, olive oil and lemon juice. Pulse until mostly smooth, then use as a dip for bread or as a sandwich spread.
• Make a cheater Caesar salad. In a processor, puree mayonnaise, anchovies, lemon juice and black pepper until smooth. Thin with a bit of water, then use to dress chopped romaine lettuce. Add croutons and chicken.
• Make an insanely savory compound butter for steak. In a processor, blend a stick of softened butter with 2 or 3 anchovies until smooth. Place a dollop of this over a freshly grilled steak.
• Or use the same approach to make an amazing garlic bread. Follow the compound butter method, but add a few cloves of garlic to the processor. Spread on bread, then toast as you normally would.
• Make a classic pasta dish: In a skillet heat several anchovies, a splash of olive oil, some garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes. When the anchovies have dissolved, add chopped broccoli raab. When the greens start to wilt, toss in cooked pasta and as much grated Parmesan as you can handle.
• Ready for the whole fish? Make panzanella (bread and tomato salad). Toss together chopped tomatoes and cubes of stale bread. Season with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic and chopped fresh oregano. Add whole anchovies. It’s delicious.
• Make a marinade for steak or chicken. Blend anchovies, olive oil, cider vinegar, black pepper and garlic, then use to marinate meat.
I keep this pizza simple in order to let the anchovy oil really shine. But if you prefer a heavy duty pizza, by all means pile on the toppings. Don’t want to make your own flatbread? Use the same anchovy oil and toppings on a ball of pizza dough from the grocer.
| makes: | 2 |
| Skill: | easy |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Cooking: | 15 min |
Ingredients
- 500g pack ciabatta bread mix (we used Wright’s)
- 2tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
- for each pizza
- roughly 3-4tbsp passata
- 150g (5oz) mozzarella (cheap is better)
- 8-12 anchovy fillets (we used fresh, but tinned are also fine)
- basil leaves, to garnish
Method
Put the ciabatta mix into a bowl, make a well in the centre and add 2tbsp olive oil and 350-400ml (12-14fl oz) lukewarm water. (This is more than the pack recommends, but we find it makes it taste more homemade.) Stir the liquid into the flour, bring together with floured hands, and tip out onto a floured surface. Knead for 1 to 2 minutes to smooth, then place in an oiled bowl covered with clingfilm, and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours, until the dough has at least doubled in size. If you’re pushed for time, you can skip the rising, but it does help with the texture and flavour of the dough. It can also be left to rise in the fridge overnight.
After this time, knead the dough briefly to knock out the air bubbles. Heat the oven to 230 C, 210 C fan, 450 F, gas 8. Divide the dough in 2, and either roll or stretch each half into a circle about 30.5cm (12in) in diameter. Place these on floured baking sheets and top with the passata, mozzarella and anchovies. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, swapping the pizzas round in the oven halfway through, so they cook evenly. Serve immediately, drizzled with oil and scattered with black pepper and the basil leaves.
Top Tip for making Tomato, Mozzarella and Anchovy Pizza
You can make your dough the night before. Make it up to the end of stage 1 and resume when you’re ready to cook.
Often available in tins or jars, anchovies add a salty, umami flavour to sauces and dressings. Find out how to buy, store, prepare and cook with anchovies.
What are anchovies?
Silver, slender salty little fish found mainly around the Black Sea and the Pacific and Atlantic, as well as the Mediterranean, where the best are thought to come from. They’re generally around 8-10cm long and, as their delicate flavour doesn’t last long after they’re caught, they are rarely exported fresh. Instead, they’re filleted, salt-cured and packed in oil or salt (these are particularly flavourful) in tins or jars. Preserved that way, they take on an intense but sophisticated fish flavour and are a great store cupboard standby.
Availability of anchovies
The tinned and jarred variety can be bought in most supermarkets and shops.
Choose the best anchovies
Look for anchovies that are packed in salt or oil. Olive oil is the best of the packing oils used.
How to prepare anchovies
If packed in salt, you can either shake off just a little of the excess for a strongly salty flavour or, for a more subtle taste, put the anchovies in a sieve and rinse all the salt away. Pat dry before using. Oil-packed anchovies can be used straight from the tin.
How to store anchovies
Tins or jars should be kept in a cool kitchen cupboard. Anchovies spoil very quickly once opened, so keep any leftovers submerged in oil in an airtight container in the fridge and consume them within two days.
How to cook anchovies
Anchovies are a central ingredient in the classic British spread, Gentleman’s Relish, but there’s lots to do with them at home. Try them in salade niçoise, Caesar salad or tapenade (olive and anchovy paste); use as a pizza topping or in a puttanesca sauce for pasta; mash up one or two with some butter and melt over grilled fish or lamb.
These little anchovy crisps are such a treat. Maybe you think of anchovies as a weird hairy fish that you would prefer to stay far away from your pizza, and the idea of an anchovy crisp is gagworthy. But this is a great recipe for anchovy fans, and it can also be a good conversion recipe for the haters.
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package directions
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 jar or can anchovy filets, drained, rinsed, and patted dry, halved lengthwise if large
How to Make It
Heat your oven to 400. Prep a sheet pan with a sheet of parchment and have a second parchment sheet and pan ready.
Lay out your sheet of puff pastry and brush off any excess flour. Paint one half of the sheet with a thin layer of the beaten egg. Lay the anchovy filets in strips about one inch apart starting at the line where the egg starts and ending about a half-inch from the other side. Fold over the puff pastry and press firmly or roll with a rolling pin to adhere the two sides, being sure to press between the anchovy strips and really try and seal the open end.
Return the prepped dough to the fridge for 15-20 minutes, or up to a day.
Slice the puff across, so that each stick has little cross-sections of anchovy, about ¼ inch thick, and line up on your sheet pan with the cut side facing up so that you can see the little anchovy bits, about an inch apart. Top with the second sheet of parchment and the second sheet pan, which is going to help them stay thin and not puff too much and get super crispy.
Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the top sheet pan and top layer of parchment and check, you want to see that they are getting a little matte looking, and not shiny or greasy. Return to the oven, rotating the pan if one side seems to be cooking quicker, uncovered and keep baking for another 2-7 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
Cool pan completely on a rack and store in an airtight container for up to three days. If they lose their crisp, you can re-crisp in a 400-degree oven for 6-8 minutes.
All the ingredients of a classic puttanesca sauce come together in this intensely flavorful and slightly spicy pizza. Be careful when seasoning this pizza, as many of the toppings are salty. The recipes for the dough and tomato sauce make twice as much as you will need for this recipe, so double the quantity of fillings and make two if you like, or save the remaining dough to make pizza later in the week.
Spicy Kalamata Olive, Anchovy and Caper Pizza
Ingredients
For the dough:
3 1/3 cups (17 oz./530 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 cup (1 1/2 oz./45 g) whole-wheat flour
1 package (2 1/2 tsp.) active dry yeast
1 Tbs. kosher salt
1 1/4 cups (10 fl. oz./310 ml) warm water (110°F/43°C), plus more as needed
2 Tbs. olive oil, plus more as needed
For the tomato sauce:
1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (15 oz./470 g) crushed tomatoes
1 tsp. dried basil
3/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 to 2 Tbs. red wine vinegar
3 Tbs. olive oil, plus more for brushing
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups (6 oz./185 g) shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese
1 cup (5 oz./155 g) kalamata olives, pitted and halved lengthwise
1/4 cup (2 oz./60 g) brined capers, drained
8 anchovy fillets
5 fresh basil leaves, torn (optional)
Directions
1. To make the pizza dough, in a food processor, combine the flours, yeast, sugar and salt. Pulse to mix the ingredients. With the motor running, add the water and olive oil in a steady stream, and then pulse until the dough comes together in a rough mass, about 12 seconds. If the dough does not form into a ball, sprinkle with 1 to 2 tsp. water and pulse again until a rough mass forms. Let the dough rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Process the dough again for 25 for 30 seconds, steadying the top of the food processor with one hand. The dough should be tacky to the touch but not sticky. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and form into a smooth ball. Place the dough in a large oiled bowl, turn to coat with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk and spongy, about 1 1/2 hours.
3. While the dough is rising, make the tomato sauce: In a small fry pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Be careful not to let it scorch or the garlic will taste bitter.
4. In a bowl, stir together the garlic-oil mixture, tomatoes, dried basil, oregano, thyme, pepper, 1/3 cup (3 fl. oz./80 ml) water and 1 1/2 Tbs. of the vinegar. Season to taste with salt and additional vinegar. Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
5. Place a pizza stone in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450°F (230°C). Once the oven has reached 450°F (230°C), let the stone continue to heat for 15 to 30 minutes longer, without opening the door.
6. Warm the olive oil in a small frying pan over low heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté just until the garlic begins to soften but not brown, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl. Pour in the tomato sauce and stir to mix well. Set aside.
7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, punch it down, and shape into a smooth cylinder. Divide into 2 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth ball, dusting with flour only if the dough becomes sticky. Cover both balls of dough with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 10 minutes. If you are using only one ball of dough, place the second ball in a gallon-size sealable plastic bag and freeze for up to 2 months. (When ready to use, thaw the frozen dough for 3 to 4 hours at room temperature.)
8. On a floured pizza peel, stretch or roll out one of the balls of pizza dough into a 12-inch (30-cm) oval, with even thickness across the oval. If the dough springs back, let it rest for about 10 minutes before continuing. Leaving a 1-inch (2.5-cm) border, spread the sauce over the dough and top with the cheese. Distribute the olives, capers, and anchovies evenly around the pizza. Brush the outside edge of the dough with olive oil.
9. Carefully slide the pizza from the peel onto the hot stone in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Using the peel, transfer the pizza to a cutting board. Let cool for a few minutes, then scatter the basil over the top, if using, slice, and serve. Serves 4.
For this and more ideas for pizza you’ll want to serve every night of the week, check out our new Pizza Night , by Kate McMillan
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Does Your Local Pizza Hut Have Anchovies?
Reader Matthew knows what he likes, and he’s not ashamed. He likes anchovies. Plenty of other people like anchovies, too, but evidently not enough. They have now disappeared from the menu at his favorite local place, and the nearest Pizza Hut only has enough to last for just ten more pizzas. Ten more pizzas.
We called up The Hut and asked nicely whether they’re getting rid of anchovies chain-wide or this is a regional or franchisee decision. They have not yet returned our call. which means that either they’re very busy or anchovies are not a priority. Probably both.
They aren’t on the online menu at my local Hut, but that doesn’t mean anything in the big picture.
If you look through national news archives, the disappearance of anchovies has been gradual. One Iowa Pizza Hut manager explained way back in 2011 that so few people order anchovies, it was actually wasteful. “We’d open a can for one order and throw the rest away, so we quit the anchovies.”
Anchovy-lovers of Consumerist, are you facing similar problems? Does your local Hut offer anchovies, and are they a common offering at your local pizzerias? We want to know. Please e-mail us your tiny, oily fish woes at [email protected]nsumerist.com and put ANCHOVIES in the subject line.
Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.
George Geary
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My Notes
This is a specialty of Nice and the surrounding villages of Provence. On the Friday markets of Valbonne you can find the vendor selling slabs of this pizza for 1 euro right by the car park, a perfect location to get you before you get into the market.
20 appetizer-size servings or 6 to 8 first course servings
Cooking Method baking
Total Time under 4 hours
Make Ahead Recipe Yes
Kid Friendly Yes
One Pot Meal Yes
Occasion Buffet, Casual Dinner Party, Cocktail Party
Recipe Course appetizer, hors d’oeuvre
Dietary Consideration egg-free, halal, kosher, lactose-free, peanut free, soy free, tree nut free
Five Ingredients or Less Yes
Taste and Texture salty, savory, sweet
Type of Dish pizza
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp dry yeast
- 1 cup water (115°F)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp sea salt (fine)
- 3 lbs yellow onions , thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup water , room temperature
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2-oz can anchovy fillets , packed in oil
- 20 Nicoise olives
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese , grated
- Jelly roll pan (11×17-inches)
Instructions
To Make the Pizza Dough:
In mixing bowl fitted with a metal blade (not dough hook). Stir together sugar, yeast and water. Let set for 10 minutes or until it starts to look bubbly. Stir in olive oil.
With mixer running on low, add flour one cup at a time and all of the salt, until the dough starts to pull away from the side of the bowl, and cleaning it. Knead with the help of the mixer for about 3-4 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl that is covered for 1-1/2 hrs or until doubled. Roll out onto the jellyroll pan. Set aside.
To Make the Onion Mixture:
Cook the onions slowly in water and olive oil in a large covered frying pan, stirring frequently, until they are soft and tender, but not browned, about 1 hour.
When onions are tender, season with thyme, salt, pepper. Cool to room temperature. Spread over prepared crust. Arrange anchovies and olives over the onions. Sprinkle cheese and dribble with a little olive oil or the oil from the anchovies. .
Bake in a 425°F, until crust is golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Cut into squares.
A lot of what it takes to come around to the anchovy side of life has to do with knowing which anchovies to buy and how to use them. Below is a basic tutorial on what anchovies I use and how.
The most readily available anchovies are anchovies packed in oil. Typical supermarket varieties are brined for two months before being rinsed, filleted, gutted and packed. The result of the brining is a less intense anchovy experience. My biggest problem with these anchovies is that you have no idea what kind of oil they’re packed in, and it usually isn’t very good. Still, I know they have their place. Think of them as anchovies for beginners. Using these, you get an anchovy flavor, but they aren’t going to give you an anchovy revelation.
Unless you’re getting a real specialty product (see the Alici di Cetara item), salt-packed anchovies are generally a higher quality anchovy than those packed in oil. Salt-packed anchovies are gutted and dried before being packed in salt, which draws out any excess water and concentrates the flavor of the fish. The salt-packed anchovies we use, the Augustino brand, come from Sicily, the source of many salt-packed anchovies. Salt-packed anchovies begin to break down once the can has been opened, so either plan on giving anchovies to all of your friends or buy them from an already opened can at the deli counter of specialty food stores or Italian markets. Salt-packed anchovies are sold whole, so you have to fillet them and discard the spines. Remember when using them in recipes that each anchovy is two anchovy fillets. Rinse salt-packed anchovies thoroughly under cold water before using them to get rid of the excess salt. These are the anchovies I use as a flavoring, whether in a braise, a salad dressing or to make bagna cauda.
Marinated white anchovies are typical of Spain, where they are called bocquerones. These anchovies are different altogether from the anchovies canned and in jars. They are marinated in vinegar and other seasonings and used as a condiment or a component of a dish. You’ll generally see them in the fish department of specialty food stores or in the refrigerator case at seafood shops. I drape these anchovies in a kale salad I serve at the Osteria, and, in a homage to that American tradition, I put them on a pizza with tomato sauce at the Pizzeria.
Alici di Menaica are a special type of salt-packed anchovies that are on the Slow Food organization’s Ark of Taste, which is like an endangered species list for foods. Menaica refers to a type of net that has been used for fishing anchovies since Roman times. Few fishermen use this method, which is slower than modern nets but is better for the preservation of anchovy populations and also supposedly improves their flavor. I use these anchovies when the anchovy is the highlight, not an ingredient in a dish, such as when I pair the anchovies with bufala mozzarella and herb vinaigrette. The only source I know for them in the U.S. is Buon Italia, in New York’s Chelsea Market. These delicate anchovies begin to break down even before you open the can, so buy them during the season — late fall and early winter — and then use them in every way you can think of before they go bad.
I discovered Alici di Cetara last summer, when I saw the name listed on restaurant menus as I traveled south from Rome to Campania. These very special anchovies are caught in a seaside village called Cetara from April to September and placed by hand in large plastic drums, layered in salt, where they remain for 12 months. After that the anchovies are cleaned, dried and packed again, this time for retail. If they will be packed in oil, the fish are carefully filleted by hand and laid out to dry on linen cloths, which supposedly absorb the briny flavor. The fish are then packed standing up in either sunflower oil, olive oil or a combination. With these anchovies, you get all the deliciousness of the fish with none of the hard-to-take, overly fishy qualities often associated with anchovies. They were the inspiration for a wax bean salad I serve with a crostini on the side, topped with a hard-cooked egg and an anchovy fillet. They are available from the Gustiamo website.
Colatura is an extract made of Cetara anchovies during the curing process, which is then aged for three to four years. The result is a liquid with a much less fishy flavor than anchovies themselves. It can be used to flavor vegetables, pasta, and meat and fish dishes. Expect to see it more and more on restaurant menus, as it is definitely one of the ingredients of the moment. This is also available from Gustiamo.
Until I discovered anchovy paste made of Cetara anchovies, I never saw a reason to use it. It’s just so easy to take an anchovy and smash it with the back of your knife, and when you chop it up it turns into a paste with almost no effort. Cetara anchovy paste is a different story: all the goodness of those anchovies concentrated into a convenient paste that can be used anywhere that anchovies are used as a background ingredient. I never thought I’d come to love anchovy paste.
Anchovies are small saltwater forage fishes from temperate seas. These small shiny fishes of the Engraulis family are found in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, as well as in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Whether they come from Cetara on the Amalfi Coast, Sicily or Liguria, Italian anchovies are superb, as are their Spanish cousins from the Cantabrian Sea in the Basque countries, the noblest expression of this fish species.
Anchovies are available fresh, marinated and preserved in oil or vinegar but this article is dedicated to the ones preserved in salt. This ingredient is considered to be a flavour enhancer and is used to preserve fish, meat and vegetables. Contrary to common belief, salt is not the predominant taste in anchovies preserved in salt. The “perfect” salt-cured anchovy has a bone that is quick and easy to remove and its thick consistent fillet is hardly salty at all once rinsed in water.
Anchovies are often used to give a punch of flavor to dishes. Here are some tips for pairing them with other food, in order to enjoy them at their best.
Anchovies: Classical Pairings
- Toasted bread cut no thicker than 10 millimetres (any thicker and it would outweigh the other ingredients) with unsalted Echiré butter from the Loire valley and anchovies.
- The savoury notes of anchovy team up beautifully with the pungency of garlic. To conjure up the “flavour of pizza”: tomato, a touch of garlic, oreganoand anchovy. Or try this combination: sweet peppers, anchovy and garlic.
- If you want to add personality to a rather dull mayonnaise, add an anchovy and your T-bone steak will be in seventh heaven.
- Scorching hot, boiled white potatoes, dressed in butter previously melted with de-salted anchovies and white truffle. Alternatively: potatoes, hot sauce of cream, anchovy and Beluga caviar.
- One of the combinations that works best is when anchovy is teamed up with the bitter-sweet notes of cruciferae vegetables: cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and puntarelle (young chicory shoots).
- Anchovy, goat’s cheese or buffalo mozzarella and thyme.
- Anchovies are considered to be one of the best ways of flavouring all those meats which have a sweet aftertaste but are not particularly rich in umami. For example, try lamb and anchovies pairing.
Anchovies: Original Pairings
- Toasted bread, de-salted anchovies, slightly mature goat’s cheese and acacia honey. Because the intense taste of the sea teams up well with cheese, with fattiness mitigating and honey compensating the end result.
- Anchovy, orange, lemonand grapefruit in the form of grated zest or extracted juice: the resulting freshness will take you by surprise.
- Anchovy and pineapple. This may sound a bit outlandish but one of the most famous dips in Vietnamese cuisine is nuocnam sauce which calls for finely chopped pineapple, garlic and chilli pepper. Perfect for accompanying beef or fried fish.
- Anchovy and beetroot, for the sweetness of the latter which compensates the saltiness of anchovy.
- Anchovy and coconut milk. One of the most successful pairings offered by South East Asian cuisine.
Top Chef Pairings
Starred-chef Andrea Berton from Milan has created a dish called Bread, oil and anchovies which highlights this ingredient with a mousse made from oil and anchovies marinated with garlic and basil.
One of Thomas Keller’s better known sauces is his Sweet Onion Tapenade in which anchovies, previously soaked in milk, are teamed up with olives, sweet pink garlic and spices.
Many of the stand out dishes from Mauro Colagreco, the chef from Mirazur in Menton, include anchovies. Like his dish inspired by the colour black, with squid ink, black olives and an oil emulsion with marinated anchovy fillets.
Even Brett Graham from the two Michelin starred Ledbury in London includes anchovies among his ingredients. For example, in his dish based on hand-dived scallops with green asparagus and anchovy cream.
If there was an Oscar for the best tapas-experience, among the candidates would certainly be Albert Adria‘s tapas from Tickets in Barcelona: an apparantly very simple apparently simple crouton, with an anchovy and tomato base with garlic scent.
Wine Pairings
The ideal wine pairing has to effectively counterbalance the saltiness of anchovies. So, we should be looking at dry, lean-edged wines with a pronounced minerality, such as a Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOC, with a well-defined aroma of almond, typical of this varietal. Its finish reveals a hint of greenness. Its taste is characterized by a complexity of aroma, length and, above all, a pronounced tangy tone which determines the length and elegance of its capacity to develop; its finish, fresh and pervasive, reveals an agreeable citrusy after-aroma.
Peggy Trowbridge Filippone
Anchovies are a small fish that tend to get a pretty bad rap from picky eaters and probably most famously from the Ninja Turtles; the famous foursome would regularly turn their noses away from any pizza with the dreaded anchovy topping. As children, we may have believed the words of our favorite cartoon but as adults, we know not to believe everything we see on TV. Anchovies can add a great salty kick to many dishes.
How Anchovies Are Sold
You can buy anchovies in many different forms. They’re often sold in tins preserved with oil or white vinegar. Some cultures in South East Asia will dry anchovies or ferment them and they make a popular soup stock in many countries as well. Anchovies are sometimes sold in a sauce with tomatoes and garlic.
Many recipes use anchovies for a punch of flavor where the fish are neither recognizable visually nor necessarily by the tastebuds. Caesar dressing is a great example—while not every Caesar salad contains this ingredient, traditional recipes do call for it and most people probably don’t even notice the taste of fish. Anchovies are often that secret ingredient that you just can’t put your finger on, the one that really makes the recipe pop. However, recipes also call for anchovies in many different forms, like a paste or chopped fillets. Here are some measurements and equivalents if you need to switch the type of anchovies you have.
Equivalents, Measures, and Substitutions
- 1 anchovy fillet = 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste (to make your own quick anchovy paste, simply mash anchovies to a paste consistency)
- 1 teaspoon mashed anchovies = 1 teaspoon anchovy paste (but remember the paste has added vinegar and spices and is milder in flavor)
- One 2-ounce can = 7 to 10 fillets
- One 2-ounce can = 3 tablespoons mashed
Health Concerns
One health warning to be aware of with anchovies is that in very rare occurrences they can cause Amnesic shellfish poisoning in humans and birds. This illness is caused by a neurotoxin the fish produce in their guts called Domoic Acid, this acid is poisonous to humans. If you experience severe gastrointestinal issues 24 hours after eating anchovies seek medical attention; especially if any neurological issues like a headache or seizures occur. The neurological symptoms of Amnesic shellfish poisoning can take several days to occur. The illness can be fatal if left untreated. The name Amnesic Shellfish poisoning comes from the fact that it’s usually shellfish that transmit the disease and because it causes memory loss in many people. Thankfully this disease is very rare but it’s best to be informed so you know what to do just in case someone gets sick!
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Looking for an easy pizza sauce recipe? This one gets rave reviews: it uses only 5 ingredients and takes only 5 minutes in a blender!
Eleven years ago, Alex and I honeymooned in Italy: Rome and the Amalfi Coast. It was like falling in love all over again: with the beautiful views and Italian pizza! On the plane ride home, we dreamed of learning how to make homemade artisan pizza. Since then, we’ve become homemade pizza experts, perfecting our Pizza Dough Master Recipe over a period of years. And now, we’re thrilled to unveil our easy homemade pizza sauce recipe. It takes just 5 ingredients and 5 minutes to make! Here’s how.
5 ingredients in this pizza sauce!
This homemade pizza sauce is truly easy. For real! That’s saying something, because Alex and I actually don’t love the word easy! We’ve found there are rarely recipes that are actually easy. Simple, yes. But easy? There aren’t too many things like that in the kitchen: but this one is one of them.
There are just 5 ingredients in this pizza sauce recipe. Even better: it requires no cooking, just a simple whiz in the blender! The flavor depends on the quality of your ingredients, so choose wisely. Here are a few things to know about the ingredients:
- Fire roasted canned tomatoes: Fire roasted tomatoes are the base of the recipe. Try to find them if at all possible! Fire roasting brings a mellow, sweet flavor to the tomatoes. If you can’t find them at your local grocery, use the highest quality crushed tomatoes you can find.
- Small garlic clove: Garlic cloves widely vary in size. This recipe calls for a small clove — if you don’t have one, use half a medium or a quarter of a large clove (see the video below if you need a hint on sizes). This is important so the sauce doesn’t end up too garlicky.
- Dried oregano: Make sure to use dried oregano that’s fairly new to you, so that the flavor is strong enough. If it’s been in your cabinet over 1 year, it’s time for a refresh!
- Olive oil: Use extra virgin olive oil. Always.
- Salt. No recipe is complete without salt! We always use kosher salt: here’s why.
How to make this pizza sauce recipe
How to actually make this pizza sauce recipe? Take all those ingredients and blend them up! It’s as simple as that. Take a taste, and…well, you’ll be amazed by the flavor! Every time we make it, when I dip my spoon into that beautiful red sauce after blending it, it’s beyond my wildest dreams. We hope you’ll think so too! We’ve had countless people tell us that it’s the best pizza sauce they’ve ever had.
To guide you through the process even more, we’ve got a video! Here’s a video of me in our kitchen, showing you how to make our best pizza sauce recipe.
Top 10 ways to serve it!
Of course, the best way to serve this easy pizza sauce recipe is ON PIZZA! Alex and I have used this recipe in countless pizza recipes. Here are our favorite pizza recipes that use it:
- Best Margherita Pizza
- Homemade Cheese Pizza
- Best Healthy Pizza
- Our Best Vegan Pizza
- Veggie Supreme Pizza
- Mediterranean Pizza
- Breakfast Pizza
- Veggie & Avocado Pizza
- Perfect Neapolitan Style Pizza
- Easy Calzone Recipe
Best Margherita Pizza is made perfect with this pizza sauce recipe!
This pizza sauce recipe is…
Vegetarian, gluten free, vegan, plant based, refined sugar free, and naturally sweet.
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Easy Pizza Sauce Recipe (5 Minutes!)
(189 votes, average: 3.98 out of 5)
4 from 189 reviews
- Author: Sonja
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: About 1 1/2 cups 1 x
Description
Looking for an easy pizza sauce recipe? This one gets rave reviews: it uses only 5 ingredients and takes only 5 minutes in a blender!
Ingredients
- 15 ounces crushed fire roasted tomatoes*
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small clove garlic ( 1/2 medium)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- Scant 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Cut the garlic into a few rough pieces (no need to mince it).
- Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until fully combined. (This pizza sauce is Italian-style, which has a slightly runnier texture than American style pizza sauce. See the video for the desired texture!) Store refrigerated for 1 week or frozen up to 3 months.
Notes
*If at all possible, try to find fire roasted tomatoes! They’re available at many mainstream groceries these days and have a mellow, sweet flavor. If you absolutely cannot find them, use a high quality brand of crushed tomatoes.
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Blended
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: Pizza Sauce, Easy Pizza Sauce, Pizza Sauce Recipe, Best Pizza Sauce, Homemade Pizza Sauce, Italian, Pizza, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
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Tag @acouplecooks on Instagram and hashtag it #acouplecooks
Pizza recipes & resources
If you’re looking to have a homemade pizza night, we have lots of resources, including:
When it comes to sardines vs anchovies, do you know the difference?
You probably pass by tins of these fish in the grocery store all the time. They’re tiny, often canned, slicked in oil, and sit side-by-side on supermarket shelves. But as similar as they may seem, sardines and anchovies are actually two distinctly different fish. Allow us to give you the breakdown on these slimy species.
Let’s start with sardines. They’re a group of oily fish native to the Mediterranean, once commonly found near the Italian island of Sardinia (hence their similar sounding name). There are at least 18 species of the fish, which is a member of the Clupeidae family, which also includes their larger cousin, herrings.
Anchovies are also small and oily, but that’s basically where the similarities end. While they’re also Mediterranean natives, they can also be found in northern waters close to Scandinavia. There are also more than 140 species of anchovies and they belong to the Engraulidae family of fish.
In terms of appearance, there are also some stark differences. Sardines are an average of two inches longer, have a protruding lower jaw, and white flesh. Meanwhile, anchovies are shorter and darker, marked by red and gray colors that are often effects of the curing process.
That brings us to the most pivotal difference: taste. Because they’re dried in salt during the aforementioned curing process, anchovies have a far more intense flavor—one that’s resulted in their notoriously polarizing reputation, especially when it comes to pizza toppings. Sardines, however are known to be a mellower choice when it comes to tinned fish options.
Now that we’ve established the basic similarities and differences, it’s time to try these great recipes with the frequently mixed-up fishes. Dive in!
Anchovy Parmesan Fried Rice
Anchovies and parmesan add a huge hit of umami to fried rice, which is freshened up with fresh cilantro and scallions, and enriched with an egg at the end. Get the Anchovy Parmesan Fried Rice recipe.
Roasted Sardines with Smashed Potatoes
Kalamata olives, garlic, and lemon are simple yet perfect seasonings that elevate any sardine dinner. Serve with a side of smashed potatoes to complete your meal. Get our Roasted Sardines with Smashed Potatoes recipe.
Sardine, Sun-Dried Tomato, and Bacon Club Sandwich
BLTs get a major upgrade and an extra fishy kick with the addition of sardines. It might not sound like the most intuitive fit, but trust us: Everything goes better with bacon. Get out Sardine, Sun-Dried Tomato, and Bacon Club Sandwich recipe.
Montaditos with Boquerones and Olive Relish
Bouquerones are a species of anchovy known for their tender white meat. The Spanish fish pairs particularly well with olive relish and a crusty baguette. Get our Montaditos with Boquerones and Olive Relish recipe.
Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe, Red Pepper Flakes, and Anchovies
Pungent broccoli rabe and pasta are a perfect combination. Throw in a few anchovies and red pepper flakes and you have a one-pot meal for the ages. Get our Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe, Red Pepper Flakes, and Anchovies recipe.
Braised Lacinato Kale with Tomato and Anchovy Soffritto
Anchovies are a perfect seasoning for kale. This recipe will teach you how to blanche the leafy green just right so you can make the ultimate side dish. Get our Braised Lacinato Kale with Tomato and Anchovy Soffritto recipe.
A deeply satisfying but simple Sicilian pasta, rich with tomato, anchovies, and toasted breadcrumbs.
[Photograph: Sasha Marx]
The sea, the sun, and the interplay of salty, sweet, and sour. This is the tongue-twisting list of things that come to mind when I think of Sicily and its cuisine. And all of these qualities are at play in a dish I was recently introduced to called pasta c’anciuova e muddica atturrata, which hails from Palermo.
This no-frills title translates from dialect to “pasta with anchovies and toasted breadcrumbs.”* The name might turn off anchovy skeptics who prefer to have the presence of delicious salty fish hidden behind names of back-stabbed Roman emperors (or maybe they’ve unknowingly made a wildly popular, more “approachable” version of this Sicilian pasta already, and refer to it by its viral internet title that cleverly plays up the allium elements of the dish rather than the ‘chovies). These people are missing out.
*Palermo dialect to be precise, where “anciuova” gets a “u”; the best I can describe the way it’s pronounced is ahnch-woah-vah, whereas in other parts of the region it is just “anciova,” so it sounds more like ahn-cho-vah.
This is an incredibly simple dish to make, with a huge savory-salty-sweet flavor payoff. It starts with onion and garlic gently cooked in olive oil until they just begin to soften. Anchovy fillets are added to the pan and allowed to dissolve before a large spoonful of Sicilian tomato estratto is folded into the mix. While similar in appearance, estratto, or “astruttu” in dialect, is exponentially more concentrated and intensely flavored than the regular “double-concentrated” tomato paste used in vodka sauce. It’s made with ripe tomatoes, that are lightly cooked and “passed” or milled (as with passata). The tomato purée is seasoned lightly with salt, spread out on wooden boards, and sun-dried over the course of several days until almost all of the water has evaporated and the mixture has reduced to a thick paste. As with sun-dried seaweed or the shellfish in XO sauce, this process concentrates glutamate levels to produce a deeply savory product.
Combined with the punch of anchovies, the estratto makes for a [redacted] bomb if there ever was one. At this point, what you have in the pan is more of a paste than a sauce. So, the mixture is loosened with the simplest of things: Hot water from the pasta pot, which is barely seasoned with salt to compensate for the saltiness of the anchovies. A quick stir, and you have a full-bodied sugo.
Bucatini are cooked shy of al dente (I am a fan of cooking pasta to “al chiodo,” or “to the nail,” in the water) before transferring to finish cooking and marry with the sauce. Once the noodles are well-coated and cooked to your liking, golden raisins and pine nuts (a classic Sicilian combination that shows the North African influence on the island’s cuisine) get tossed in, along with a handful of the “muddica atturrata,” or toasted breadcrumbs. The raisins provide pops of sweetness that complement the onion and balance the salinity of the estratto and anchovies, the pine nuts lend a hint of nutty bitterness, and the breadcrumbs tighten the sauce, helping it cling to the pasta even better. Once plated, the pasta is topped with another sprinkling of breadcrumbs for a crunchy finish.
This dish has it all—intense savory and salty notes from the anchovies and estratto, acidity from the tomatoes, sweetness from the onions and raisins, bitterness from the pinoli, and crunch from the muddica atturrata. Not bad for what is essentially a pantry pasta. By that token, I’ve written this recipe to work with both the traditional (but pricey in the States) Sicilian tomato estratto, and the more affordable (and widely available) concentrated tomato paste. Both versions are delicious, but I highly recommend purchasing the estratto if it’s within your means. Because the recipe calls for such small quantities, the pine nuts and raisins are also listed as optional, but are highly recommended; the dish will still taste very good without, but they really make this pasta shine.
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When I’m just cooking for myself (i.e. if my special someone is out of town), I can certainly fend for myself nutritionally, but, I’m probably not going to get too culinarily ambitious. I find I either want to cook for lots and lots of folks (hence my two dinner parties over the weekend), or not really mess with it. I mean, who I am gonna impress and treat? Myself? Nah. Plus, I gotta do all the cleanup myself.
So, while I don’t like to get take out every night, I’m prolly not gonna make a big mess in the kitchen with fancy fixings. And, probably at least once, when spending an evening huddled away in the basement working on a project, I’ll resort to that single-guy staple: the frozen pizza.
Not that I like frozen pizza, of course. But, it does do in a pinch, requires little effort and clean-up, and sorta feels like a treat. But that bland blagh from a box doesn’t have to be all bad. Especially if you take it up a notch with some fresh ingredients and clever techniques.
There are four major components on any pizza: the crust, the sauce, the cheese, and the toppings. Unfortunately, in most frozen pizzas, each of these components is usually lacking, resulting in a substandard pie. So, address each element individually, and you’re well on your way for a passable, even respectable, meal.
The crust:
1. Frozen pizza dough is totally different than fresh dough. Since it’s flash frozen and has been hanging out in the freezer for whoknowshowlong, frozen dough tends to turn out limp, no matter how hot your oven, since there are so many ice crystals in the dough, sauce, even the cheese and toppings. The pizza essential steams, rather than bakes.
So, in this case, it’s best to let it touch as little of a surface as is possible, and that means the oven rack. Forget your pizza stones, your baking sheets, your special pizza pans. Just slide the frozen pie directly onto the rack, positioned in the “second from the bottom” position. Going from the dry cold of your freezer to the dry heat of the oven is your best bet for any hope of a crispy crust.
2. If your pizza comes wrapped in plastic (which they almost always do), try this trick: Before you unwrap it, flip it over onto the box or other flat surface, and take the plastic off just the back. Use a fork or paring knife to punch little holes, or “dock” the dough in the center, where the toppings are. This will allow the steam to escape, and result in a much less-limp crust.
3. Up the flavor of your outer crust just before finishing cooking. When there’s about two minutes left, brush the outer ring of crust with garlic butter, garlic oil, or a bit of olive oil and a sprinkle of black pepper, and parmesean cheese. Allow it to brown in the oven, which should also help the crispiness factor. Lastly, rub a clove of raw garlic over the browned crust, garlic bread style, for a big flavor boost.
The sauce:
4. Unfortunately, this is the toughest one, since you simply can’t get at that lake of frozen sauce stuck between the crust and the cheese. So, the trick is: add sauce-like things to the pizza when done. A drizzle of high quality extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of fresh herbs like basil and oregano, some dried chile flakes, or fresh tomatoes all work wonders. Yeah, sure, they’re technically toppings, but they bring an extra punch of sauce-y flavor, whether red or white.
The cheese:
5. This is the most obvious one: add more cheese. Or rather, add better cheese. Throwing in some fresh mozzarella (beware the water content), or at least a higher quality Italian cheese blend (what you’d use on a homemade pizza) will getcha that ooey, gooeyness that we know from, you know, good pizzas. These are never gonna be artisinal pies that let the simplicity shine, so you might as well enjoy yourself and go cheese crazy.
6. In addition, try adding more complex cheeses to the relatively overly sweet taste of most frozen pizza. You may be tempted to salt a frozen pizza. DON’T. The sodium content on these guys are already out of the roof. If your pizza is bland, it’s not cause it isn’t salty. It’s because it’s very, uh, “one-note”. namely, packaged, low-quality pizza. So add some complexity with different cheeses. A grating of good parmigiano or romano will bring that saltiness you’re looking for, but also a bit of nuttiness and even some sour notes that will cut through that overly sweetened, corn-syrupy sauce. Or, try some soft feta or farmer’s cheese for a contrast with the melty.
The toppings:
7. More is more. Here’s where you can really improve these frostbitten beasts. Basically, any fresh ingredients you can add here will be an improvement over the frozen little nuggets that came with it. Go classic, or use your imagination. Adding traditional flavors like tomato, fresh herbs, higher quality meats and salumi will always be tasty. Fresh or lightly sauteed/grilled veggies are a must, and frozen veggies like peas and corn work quite well.
Try raiding your fridge: look for olives or capers, and use up those leftovers. Rostiserrie chicken or leftover lunch meat will bring some protein, and some chopped onion always adds a nice crunch. If you can’t stand the strength of raw onion, try rinsing it in a sieve or colander under cold water for about twenty seconds. It’ll take away the sting, and leave you with a good balance of flavor and texture.
One of my favorite tricks is to squirt a basic red and white pizza with some homemade or jarred pesto. It’s a great way to use up pesto before it oxidizes, and brings plenty of flavor to the party.
8. Go nuts. Or, well, add some. Toss on some toasted pinenuts, walnuts, slivered almonds, etc, for a big protein boost, plenty of roasty flavor, and a bit of texture.
9. Get jet set! Sure, pizza is traditionally understood as having Italian-like flavors, but tomatoes and cheese are everybodys friends. Add some goat cheese, thyme, and figs for a French flair, or plenty of olives, feta, oregano, and a squirt of lemon for a taste of Greece. I often add fresh cilantro, black beans, corn, Mexican-style hot sauce and a bit of queso fresco for a Latin punch. It works. Really!
10. Add a salad. Fresh greens atop a pizza is a tasy thing, indeed, and a surefire way to make frozen pizza a complete meal. Toss some tender greens like argula, spring or mesclun mix in fresh lemon juice (or light vinegar), olive oil, course salt, and lots of black pepper. Then, just plant it atop your slices, and enjoy!
Do you have any favorite tricks for amping up frozen pizza? Post ’em in the comments below.
The traditional Margherita pizza is a simple pizza that relies on great basic ingredients to make a great pizza — Italian Tipo 00 Pizza Flour, the best San Marzano Tomatoes, fresh Mozzarella, olive oil, and fresh Basil.
Read our instruction on how to make authentic Italian Pizza Dough and Italian Pizza Sauce.
Then, read our instructions on how to make Brick Oven Pizza, or Pizza Stone Pizza. Have fun!
The traditional Marinara uses tomatoes, garlic and oregano make a simple red pizza.
The traditional Napoli includes fresh peeled tomatoes, fresh Mozzarella, olive oil, capers and anchovies.
But this is just the start. Take a look at our recipe list on the right, and let your imagination go.
Tomato and Mozzarella (Red)
Porcini mushroom
Grilled zucchini
Grilled eggplant, tomato and basil
Grilled eggplant, tomato, arugula, capers and anchovies
Arugula
Grilled onion
Al Mare — clams, mussels and prawns (my favorite)
Four seasons: artichoke, mushroom, olive and ham
Tuna (Quattro Stagione)
Green olive, mussels and fresh basil
Olive Oil and Mozzarella (White)
Roast potato, rosemary and Percorino
Mushroom, leek, tomato and slivered Parmesan
Pesto, oil and tomato
Smoked salmon and Brie
Mushroom and Brie
Artichoke and Brie
Four cheese: mozzarella, Percorino, Parmesan and Gorgonzola
Olive, grilled onion and anchovy
Transcript
It’s kind of crazy to think about pizza without the cheese and different cheeses play different roles when it comes to making pizza at home.
So, parmesan, when you buy it, totally don’t go after that little saw dust that comes in the green bottle You know exactly what I’m talking about. Look for ones that have this rind, this stamp on the back of it. That is a sign that it actually came from Italy, Parma, Italy to be exact and it’s the real deal. This brings a lot of saltiness to it. I like to finish pizzas with this. Almost like a little sprinkle of salt. Got to have good parmesan.
Buffalo mozzarella. Again, don’t go get the shredded come that come in bags. Get a good, fresh ball of it. Tear it up, rip it up. Leave it in a little bit of water to keep it moist. This is going to add some stretchiness to it and that mouth feel that everyone just totally digs.
Here’s some goat cheese which is obviously a little bit more pungent. It adds more character to the dough. If I doing something more with a sweet tone, like figs or pears, I might sprinkle in a little goat cheese to just offset it.
Ricotta, this is like a sauce in itself. You blob this around and it melts down and it acts as its almost white sauce. It’s super mild, but it gives you that perfect mouth feel that you are after. I don’t have it today, but I absolutely adore something like a bleu cheese. Something that’s a little bit more stinky, a little bit more pronounced as a flavor. Again, I like to pair that with sweet things and really throw people’s pallets off when they bite into it. That is where I use a bleu cheese.
So, I am going to build my favorite type of cheese pizza. Really, really simple. I would start with a little bit of olive oil over the top of my crust. Just brush that through all the way to the ends. This is going to get my crust super crispy and a little bit of fattiness to the whole thing. Beautiful.
Big, big pinch of salt, awesome.
Then I’m going to take a little bit of tomato sauce. Don’t overdo it with this part. It’s more about the cheese than anything else. So, just a couple of big spoonful’s of that right over the top. Just spread that through. You can see the basil kind of fleck all the way throughout. I love it. All the way to the edges with that. Great.
Now with this one, I’m going to start with just tearing up with some beautiful mozzarella, just dotting that throughout. This is awesome.
You want everyone to have a bite of everything in every single slice so make sure it’s nice and even.
A little bit of goat cheese. Again this is really pungent so it’s a little strong, but it’s going to mix well with the stretchiness of the mozzarella.
I’m not going to use the ricotta because I think it will kind of overwhelm the whole pizza, but I am going to throw on a ton of parmesan cheese. This is going to start on one end. Look at this. Just kind of go throughout the whole thing. Get it on the crust. That part’s the best. Beautiful.
All right, another sling of olive oil. If you love cheese pizza, this is going to blow your mind. I’m going to throw it on my peel, here. My oven’s at 500 degrees. This is going to take about seven to eight minutes. Just going to slide it out on there and forget about it.
I can smell the cheese doing its thing. It’s been about seven minutes at 500 degrees. Go in here, oh yeah. Slides out like a dream with that parchment. Pull the parchment, slide out the pizza. That looks awesome.
All I’m going to do now is grab some really good olive oil. This is my finishing oil. Just paint the outside to get that sheen, that beautiful shine. A little bit of that oil on your hands is a good thing. It’s a cheese pizza, but any pizza, I’m going to top with some good parmesano reggiano. If you totally dig cheese, nothing will beat that.
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Anchovy bread is an Italian dish, which is made in different ways depending on the region of Italy it is being prepared in. All of the preparations share the common ingredients of anchovies and bread, but the commonalities essentially stop there. As a general rule, anchovy bread is served as an appetizer, along with an assortment of other small dishes. It can also be part of a main course, in a more robust form.
Anchovy bread goes well with tapenade.
The two most common forms of anchovy bread are in the form of Tuscan crostini and Sicilian sfinciuni. Both breads are prepared and served very differently. For cooks who want to add a note of authentic Italian flavor to Mediterranean meals, learning to prepare anchovy bread can be a useful skill. It also makes an excellent packed snack for picnic lunches, when well wrapped to prevent loss of toppings.
In Tuscany, anchovy bread is made by toasting bread and spreading anchovy paste on it. The result is a crostini, an appetizer made with thin, crispy bread and a topping. Tuscans often add parsley, rosemary, or cheese to their bread, which can be served hot or cold. For a classic Tuscan meal, anchovy bread can be offered along with foods like zucchini and fennel saute or olive salad.
In Sicily, anchovy bread more closely resembles a pizza. It is made by stretching bread dough into thick rounds and topping the dough with anchovy fillets and olive oil before baking. This basic bread can be enhanced with the addition of red sauce, olives, basil, or cheeses, depending on the region of Sicily. The dish is called sfinciuni, or “old woman’s face,” in a reference to the wrinkled and discolored appearance of the final product. It is typically cut into wedges before being served.
The flavor of anchovy bread is fishy and salty, much like anchovies themselves. The flavor can be tempered with the addition of an assortment of ingredients, but most Italians enjoy the bread for the anchovy flavor, dipping it into things like olive tapenade or olive oil to enhance the flavor. A variation of the bread is also served in France, typically taking the form of a dense sourdough bread which is often served with mashed anchovy fillets.
Anchovies are used in different forms to make anchovy bread.
Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a wiseGEEK researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.
Anchovy is a small fish that belongs to the family Engraulidae. It comes with excellent nutritional properties such as omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidant. [ 1 ] They abound in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans. They are usually green in color with a silver stripe.
Anchovies are quite popular when it comes to salad dressing. It adds a strong flavor to the seafood. You can find them in the super shop as a paste or fillet salted in brine. While you can use the fillet, the paste is the most popular form of anchovy and easier to use. The preservation method gives the fish an intense flavor.
But the anchovy paste is difficult to find, and you may not like to use the fillet. So you can try some anchovy substitutes.
In this article we will discuss some substitutions for anchovies that you can use to bring a super savory flavor in your food.
Substitute for Anchovies (Non-veg and Vegan)
These are some of the nearest alternatives for anchovy you can use.
Some of these replacements are very salty, so you have to be careful with other ingredients to make a balance.
1. Worcestershire Sauce
Worcestershire sauce is the first thing that comes to mind for an anchovy substitute.
The reason behind it is simple, the ingredients. One of the main components of this sauce is anchovy. Worcestershire sauce has a flavor equivalent to anchovies.
This fermented liquid consists of many other ingredients to give your food the same fishy flavor.
If you like anchovy in paste form, you’ll love the Worcestershire sauce as.
But, you must consume this sauce moderately as too much consumption may lead to a kidney problem. [ 2 ]
2. Asian Fish Sauce
It is a must-have ingredient in the kitchen for those who love to wow people with their delicious dishes. [ 3 ]
People use fish sauce to bring a unique flavor to the dishes. It is a necessary ingredient to make, mainly Chinese and Japanese dishes.
But, you must use it moderately as it comes with a tart taste and the flavor of your dish might vary a little.
Asian fish sauce is an excellent substitute for anchovy in soups, Caesar salad, stews, and stocks.
3. Shrimp Paste
Shrimp paste is one of the most famous ingredients in Southern Chinese and Southeast Asian cuisine.
This paste is fermented ground shrimp with salt. It’s quite healthy as shrimp is an excellent source of iron. [ 4 ]
You can use it while making curries and sauces. Use the same proportion for shrimp paste as an alternative to anchovy paste.
Shrimp paste has a strong taste, so adjust other ingredients accordingly.
4. Capers
The green buds of caper bush often come as a pickle in salt or vinegar.
You can use them to make sauces and some seafood.
Capers are rich in medicinal value. It can be beneficial for diabetes, fungal infections , intestinal worms , etc. [ 5 ]
It’s a good substitute for anchovy fillets as its flavor is strong but not overpowering.
Use a ½ tablespoon of capers for one tsp of anchovy.
5. Umeboshi Paste
Umeboshi or pickled plum is initially from Japanese cuisine and a great side dish with rice.
Umeboshi paste is a healthy anchovy substitute. It has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and memory-improving properties. [ 6 ]
It’s intense and salty taste can bring that umami flavors in this you’re looking. If you’re a vegetarian, it could be a good choice for you.
Umeboshi sauce works fantastic on Thai dishes, and you can also use it as a salad dressing.
6. Seaweed
If you’re a vegan, then you can’t have anchovy. But you can still have the same flavor in your food.
Seaweed can help you with that. This mineral-rich herb can be an excellent vegetarian substitute for anchovies.
Seaweed is extremely healthy as you will find almost all the minerals found in oceans in it. [ 7 ]
It has no calories, no fats and sprinkles of the herb can bring that same umami flavor your craving.
7. Soya Sauce
Who doesn’t know about soya sauce? After all, you can’t have your favorite sushi without it.
It is a staple condiment of many restaurants and kitchen. Soya sauce can also be a great alternative to anchovy.
The main ingredients of this sauce are soy that is an excellent source of protein. [ 8 ]
It’s great for those with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart problems.
Soy is also great for type-2 diabetes , kidney disease , and pregnancy.
Make sure none of your family members are allergic to soy before using soya sauce in your food.
Bottom Line
Seafood and good salads with strong fish flavors are not only a treat for your tummy, but also for your heart.
Nothing is more precious than making a delicious dinner for your family. But missing out an essential ingredient can ruin everything. That’s why you should count on the alternatives.
You must ensure neither you nor any of your family members are allergic to any of these substitutes. And if you’re a vegetarian, there are better alternatives as well.
