Anchovies. I am OBSESSED with them!
Jump toI know anchovies aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I am OBSESSED with them. I love the slightly sweeter, fresher taste of the white anchovies that come cured and lightly pickled, but my true love is the weird looking brown super salty ones that come packed in olive oil in a tin. If I really want to treat myself, I toast a thick piece of granary bread, allow it to cool, slather it in a thick layer of golden butter and top it with some really good quality tinned anchovies. Sounds weird, I know, but don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!
Anyway…this recipe is a slightly healthier way to devour my favourite tinned treat. It makes an excellent lunch and it ticks lots of boxes: despite its status as a “salad”, it is pretty substantial and will keep you going until dinner; you get loads of healthy wins (omega 3 from the anchovies, folic acid, fibre and iron from the broccoli, fibre and protein from the chickpeas); and, most importantly, it packs a huge flavour punch with the anchovies, chilli and garlic. The crispy oven-baked chickpeas are also a bit of a game-changer and give the salad some crunch and texture.
Even if you aren’t an anchovy lover, give this one a try. The little fillets almost dissolve in the olive oil and heat and leave behind a really savoury, salty, umami flavour rather than being overly fishy. And if you really don’t like them, you can leave them out. It is still a good salad.#
I know anchovies aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I am OBSESSED with them. I love the slightly sweeter, fresher taste of the white anchovies that come cured and lightly pickled, but my true love is the weird looking brown super salty ones that come packed in olive oil in a tin. If I really want to treat myself, I toast a thick piece of granary bread, allow it to cool, slather it in a thick layer of golden butter and top it with some really good quality tinned anchovies. Sounds weird, I know, but don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!
Anyway…this recipe is a slightly healthier way to devour my favourite tinned treat. It makes an excellent lunch and it ticks lots of boxes: despite its status as a “salad”, it is pretty substantial and will keep you going until dinner; you get loads of healthy wins (omega 3 from the anchovies, folic acid, fibre and iron from the broccoli, fibre and protein from the chickpeas); and, most importantly, it packs a huge flavour punch with the anchovies, chilli and garlic. The crispy oven-baked chickpeas are also a bit of a game-changer and give the salad some crunch and texture.
Even if you aren’t an anchovy lover, give this one a try. The little fillets almost dissolve in the olive oil and heat and leave behind a really savoury, salty, umami flavour rather than being overly fishy. And if you really don’t like them, you can leave them out. It is still a good salad.
Crispy chickpea salad with broccoli, anchovy, garlic and chilli
Equipment
- Baking trya
- Frying pan
Ingredients
- 1 Tin Chickpeas
- 1 Glug Olive oil
- 1 Pinch Salt
- 1 Pinch Pepper
- 1 Clove Garlic
- 3-6 Filets Anchovy fillets Depending on the level of your anchovy love
- Chilli flakes
- 6 Stems Purple sprouting broccoli or tender stem broccoli
- 1 handful Cherry tomatoes
- 0.5 Juice Lemon
- 20 g Parmesan cheese
- 1 Handful Flat leaf parsley
Instructions
Pre heat oven
- Pre-heat your oven. Set it to the highest temperature it will go to. Get out a baking tray, glug about a tablespoon of olive oil into it and put into the oven to heat up.
Preparation
- Whilst the tray and oil are heating up, drain the tin of chickpeas, rinse, and tip onto a clean tea-towel (you could use a few sheets of kitchen paper if your prefer). Give them a really good rub to dry them well, then leave to air-dry for a few minutes – this will really speed up the cooking process as they will become crispy more quickly.
- Tip them into the hot baking tray along with a small pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper. I say a small pinch of salt because you will be adding them to the anchovies later which are already really salty. Shake the baking tray to coat the chickpeas well in the oil, salt and pepper, then halve the cherry tomatoes and line them up down one side of the tray – you want to keep them separate from the chickpeas so that the moisture from the tomatoes doesn’t affect the crisping process. If you don’t mind the extra washing up, you can use a separate tray for this.
- Put the tray in the oven and pour another glug of olive oil into a frying pan over a low heat. Finely slice the garlic and add to the pan – do not let it burn. Add the anchovy fillets and give it all a good stir. The anchovies will start to dissolve and mingle with the garlic, creating a flavoured oil that will taste amazing.
- Give the broccoli a wash and slice the stems into roughly 2cm chunks (leaving the tips whole). Add to the pan along with a good pinch of chilli flakes. Keep them moving around the pan over a low heat until the broccoli is lightly cooked (the residual water from washing will slightly steam and help the broccoli to cook through), then set to one side in a warm place.
- The chickpeas and tomatoes will probably need about 15 minutes but check them after 10 in case your oven is super hot. You want the chickpeas crispy (not burnt!) and the tomatoes softened and starting to catch around the edges.
- Once they are done, add the chickpeas to the broccoli pan with a small handful of chopped flat leaf parsley, a squeeze of lemon juice and a grind of black pepper and give it all a good stir. Check the seasoning, but you probably won’t need more salt.
- Heap the broccoli and chickpea mix into a shallow bowl, top with the tomatoes and a grating of Parmesan cheese enjoy!
