Well, I just had a bite of mama’s pizza with anchovies on it!!! There was a HUGE festival in this little burg a couple of days ago, and the town was decorated with faux fishermen, silver anchovies and the beautiful yellow shrubs that are blooming everywhere now for spring.
You can tell this guy’s fake, right? On his right are little silver cut outs that people around here worked weeks to produce.
This is the ginestra, or broom, or genets and has a lovely scent, mama says.
Plates like these were all over the place, and you could buy anchovies in jars, either salted or ready to clean and marinate. This used to be the anchovy capital of France long, long ago, and because of this, Collioure paid very low taxes for many years. The women all had one long thumbnail with which to clean the anchovies. Mama still keeps hers, too, because she cleans her own fresh ones and then marinates them in olive oil, lemon, garlic slices, peppercorns, and cilantro, chopped. I like mine raw, and I don’t need a thumbnail to get mine clean, haha!
These are our famous salted anchois. Mama puts them on the aforementioned pizza, but also on toast with butter. Num, num.
But, alas, the festival is over and I’ll have to do my own fishing…sigh. It’s just that there don’t seem to be any in my birdbath right now. Not even minnows, whatever that are. I guess this is positive as I REALLY don’t want to drink fishy water…argggggggh.
“Just sippin’ in the rain, just sippin’ in the rain”….la la la…
(Anchovies always make me thirsty)
bet you drank a lot of that water! Anchovies are salty suckers!
Yes, LOTS of water, but mama soaks them a bit before using.
I don’t think I could get Mom to put anchovies on her pizza. But I sure would like to get my paws on some of those fresh, silvery fishes. Maybe you can have a fishy hatchery in your pond when it fills up with water?
OH, great idea. Now if only I could order some spawn, whatever that is.
The mom hates anchovies, Loulou….can you imagine that?? We’ll eat her share!
Yes you mat have all you can eat.
Wow! The decorations are beautiful and fun (the fisherman and his anchovies are FABU!!!) – and what your mama does with those anchovies – that plate is a work of art!! Hope you got a nibble from their lunch!! Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever tasted an anchovy! Mama cooks with them al the time, but doesn’t share. Harrumph.
Ask for RAW, Mya, ask for RAW. Oops, you’re a doggy–better ask for pizza.
We’ve never had an anchovy. That’s a neat story about the one long fingernail. We cats keep our nails long, so we shouldn’t have any problem cleaning the little fishies, right?
Oh, you guys would go through those fishies like a weevil through grits!
Oh, LouLou ! Anchovies ! I LOVE them. Usually on pizza. The idea of a whole festival of them – all in different sauces ! Wow !
I especially love them on pizza. My friends all move to tyhe other side of the table when I order them, however. Glad you got to enjoy some !
Well, you are an eater in the know. Lots of people don’t realize how good they are. It’s just custom. Here in Europe, everyone eats them.