Canned sardines, mackerel and shellfish make a quick and easy dinner. Just add bread or pasta.
Ben, Sheffield
“Canned fish is such a good thing,” agrees chef and restaurateur Mitch Tonks, who launched his Rockfish canned seafood line in early January. “We have the obligatory sardines and mackerel, but also mussels and cuttlefish or squid in ink… I'm a big fan of preserves.” And he is not alone.
José Pizarro always has sardines on hand: “Bring the sardines, the smallest ones – they are the best.” The chef and owner of the restaurant cuts it up and uses it, along with boiled eggs and capers, to stuff empanadas. “I can't get enough of these sweets. It's a recipe my mother taught me, although she uses canned tuna. Alternatively, Tonks puts his sardines to work in a Reuben-style sandwich:
“Mix crème fraiche, English mustard and a dash of Worcestershire sauce, spread it on rye bread [with butter on the outside], place the sardines on top, add pepper. black onion, red onion, sliced pickles, capers, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese.” Top with another slice of buttered-on-out rye and fry until crispy.
You can also turn up the heat with a tam sound, Tonks says: “Rip carrots, zucchini and/or green papaya, chop red onion, cut cherry tomatoes in half and place them all in a bowl with sliced fresh pepper. Make a sauce by combining a crushed garlic clove, palm sugar, fish sauce and lime juice and tossing it all together with coriander and mint. Fry some canned sardines and crumble on top to finish.
If Ben has any canned tuna, Tonks recommends tossing it with crispy potatoes seasoned with 'nduja, while the canned mackerel signals shawarma: "Shred cabbage, red onion and green pepper, then grate some garlic into yogurt and toss." Spread on flatbread with a little hummus, some za'atar, lemon juice and mackerel, wrap everything up and you're done.
“Anchovies are essential too,” says chef Angus Cowen, who with his partner Charlotte Dawe founded the East London Canning Co during lockdown. “They have that umami you can't get from anything else.”
While anchovies have a myriad of uses, you'll be hard pressed to serve them better than simply on toast with "as much butter as you can". Alternatively, “sauté them with chopped rosemary and garlic to serve as a base for chicken broth for a stew, be it lamb shoulder or rabbit”.
Cowen is also a big believer in canned mussels: "We cook and eat them year-round." A real winner around him—and especially with his kids—is an orzo dish for which he processes smoked bacon, then his leeks and garlic, plus some fennel seeds, until tender.
“Add some cider, put in some cooked pasta and a knob of butter, put it all together and the mussels go in nicely at the end.” If you have fancy mussels, don't forget to add some liqueur too. Or, for a quick fix, use them as a toast topping. Tonks tosses her mussels (“we canned them in a marinade, which is a light vinegar marinade”) with red onion, capers, small chopped egg yolk, and a little oil and vinegar. Eat in yeast and spread the joy.
