Food & Drink, Let's cook with Nonna Rosa

Calabrese-style stuffed anchovies | Let’s cook with Nonna Rosa

Welcome back dear readers, as you well know Italian cuisine is a real treasure from north to south, including the islands, it is hard to say which delicacy is the best because they all really are. Each region has its own specialties and each reflects the passion for food that characterises our nation. I thought of traveling south where there is a real gastronomic paradise by offering you a fried fish, an irresistible dish with fried stuffed anchovies, as is tradition in Calabria, an invitation to savor every bite in the traditions of this wonderful region.

It serves 4:

24 fresh anchovy filets
200gr stale breadcrumbs
100gr breadcrumbs
Chopped parsley
50gr parmesan
1 clove of garlic
4 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil to fry

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 40 minutes

Procedure:

Clean, debone and remove the insides of the anchovies by removing the head, washing them and opening them like a book, place them on a plate. Prepare the filling, in a bowl put part of the finely grated stale breadcrumbs, two eggs, the Parmesan cheese, add the pepper and salt to taste, a little parsley, the minced garlic clove. Now mix the filling, by using your hands it will blend perfectly, if necessary add a drop of water and continue to knead until the filling is ready. In a separate bowl, beat the other two eggs and dip the anchovies (one at a time) after having lightly salted them. Place the filling between two anchovies and dip them together in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs and they are ready to be fried. Bring the frying oil to the boil in a pan (I prefer groundnut oil), fry them for about four minutes per side, then place them on kitchen paper to remove the excess oil… and they are ready to be served hot and crunchy on a platter.