Deep Dives: Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers

These are not the salt-cured anchovies you may be used to, these are the same type of fish but processed more like the way sardines are typically processed, tinned in olive oil.

• Sourced from thriving, well-managed populations in the Bay of Biscay, off Northern Spain
• Small-scale purse seines reduce bycatch and prevent overharvest
• Anchovies reproduce fast, making them a more renewable resource than many larger fish
• Our fishermen belong to centuries-old cofradias, or guilds, which share profits and encourage cooperation
• Processed, seasoned and canned by a family-owned certified B Corp, also in northern Spain, that employs mostly women

120g (4.2 oz) tin

Pictured with whole grain toast with caramelized onion butter.

Our Atlantic Mackerel is packed with roasted garlic and silky extra-virgin olive oil. Meaty, savory, and mild, it’s great straight from the can on toast, or added to pastas and salads.

The seasonings are on the bottom, so flip the open can onto a plate to allow them to flow evenly over the fish.

Each can contains 4.2 oz; fully cooked.

Pictured in pasta aglio e olio with red pepper flake, extra garlic, and parmesan.

Dan’s Tasting Notes: “Superb. When I cracked open the lid the aroma was pure that knowing half laugh Judi Dench delivers in Chocolat the first time she experiences the drinking chocolate. The level of red pepper (1) and garlic (1 clove) and oil and salt and fishness was impeccably balanced. I saved the oil for later use. These are ‘in the Basque style’, which for anchovies means they’re not tightly packed as we usually see with tinned fishies. They’re loose, to give the olive oil the ability to fully saturate every bit. The larger tin also allows for longer pieces of anchovy. The pleasures abound and compound.  I can now, from experience and without reservation, unequivocally recommend Olasagasti Anchovies a la Basque. Save the oil. For salad dressing, for croutons, home fries, for fried onions, for to cure all that ails you.”

Olasagasti, located in the Basque region of Spain, has been in business since 1929 and produce their products using traditional Spanish methods. Unlike the vinegar-marinated white “boquerone” style of anchovies, these anchovies are fried in olive oil “a la Donostiarra” with garlic and cayenne pepper.

One unique aspect of these anchovies is that the tins are not packed tightly to the brim with fish. This is a trademark of Olasagasti, who feel that using a larger tin gives the anchovies space to move and become covered in the marinade of olive oil, garlic, cayenne, wine vinegar and salt. The leftover oil is a flavorful bonus you can use for sauteing vegetables or shellfish.

190g tin

Pictured with potato pancakes and chive sour cream.

Sea spaghetti is brown when growing and turns green after heating. The vegetal flavor works perfectly with the garlic to turn the razor clams into an addictive eating experience.

90g (3.2 oz) tin

Pictured with yuzu kosho dressing, sesame seeds, kelp pinch, and nori.

Chilean mussels in olive oil and garlic and parsley, a perfect tin for a glass of wine, a baguette, and not a wasted drop of tin liquid.

100g (3.52 oz) tin

Pickled wild garlic leaves with are the perfect, deliciously sweet & sour, addition to your tinned fish.

70g tin

White, flaky cod in garlic olive oil. Great straight from the tin, but you really want to use this to make your own riff on brandade.

120g (4.2oz) tin

Sardines stewed in (rather than merely packed in) persillade, which is lemon, garlic, and parsley.

115g (4 oz) tin

This tinned octopus is excellent straight from the tin with a squeeze of citrus or a vinegary sauce of some kind, or fry them in a saute pan until they just start to golden up and serve with patatas bravas or toss with pasta.

One really great thing about the canning process is that squid and octopus and clams, often tricky for a home cook to get just right when cooked from raw, are always perfectly cooked and only need to be brought up to eating temperature.

110g tin

We love the classics, we do. But, we also call ’em like we see ’em, and we like mussels in just about anything else better than we like mussels in escabeche.

And we’ve yet to meet a savory that isn’t improved by garlic and chili pepper.

Great straight from the tin, or folded into a dish of freshly made rice. Also amazing tossed with angel hair pasta and garnished with purple basil.

110g tin