Tempted by Jansson

Doesn't look like the beginnings of a luxurious dinner, does it?

We have had a jar of nice anchovies opened in the fridge for a few days now. The jar was part of Christmas present from my parents to The Husband - lots of nice foody bits and bobs from Carluccio's. I'd opened it and used a couple of anchovies to add depth to a pasta sauce last week, and knew I had to use them up but wasn't quite sure what to do with them.

The problem is, I'm not mad on anchovies. I love them as a secret ingredient, chopped up and melted into a sauce, but when I have them on a pizza, I end up peeling off all but one or two, and eating just the tiniest bit with every mouthful - I can't eat a whole one, they're too strong.

So when I read Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in Saturday's Guardian talking about canned ingredients and giving a recipe for an alternative version of Jansson's Temptation using sardines, but mentioning that the original version had anchovies, I was intrigued.

I googled, and found this recipe on Waitrose's website. I loved the story they gave - that the dish tempted a religious fanatic named Jansson who had renounced earthly pleasures. And I loved the frugality and simplicity - and the fact that the anchovies were chopped up finely!

Still not overly promising

So I made it for dinner last night, frying the onions in the anchovy oil - a thrifty touch I loved - before adding matchsticked potatoes, and finally the cream and finely chopped anchovies and putting it in the oven to bake.



Yum



It was the most delicious meal imaginable. It uses a tiny amount of cream, and yet was so rich. The flavour of the anchovies blended with the onions and potatoes to create a beautiful scented savoury taste, with little spikes of sweetness. It cost about tuppance h'apenny and took (thanks to the food processor) 10 minutes of work plus baking to make.

I'd recommend this one. Even if you don't like anchovies!