Acciughe al verde is a typical appetizer from Piedmont. You can order them in the piole, the local osterias, where you can enjoy them along with other antipasti such as bagna cauda, meat tartare, and vitello tonnato, thin slices of veal blanketed in a tuna, boiled egg, and anchovy sauce.
To make it at home, choose good-quality salt-packed anchovies and rinse them thoroughly before filleting them. Let them marinate in the parsley sauce for at least 24 hours so that all the flavors can mingle. Start with a small quantity, as a bit of anchovy fillet goes a long way in terms of taste.
Serve acciughe al verde as a starter along with good unsalted butter and crusty bread, boiled eggs, and roast peppers.
- 10 salt-packed anchovies
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
- 10 mint leaves, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- Red chile pepper flakes to taste
Hard boil the egg, peel it, and separate the yolk from the egg white. You’ll only use the yolk for this recipe; the white can be eaten straight away with a tiny piece of anchovy.
Mix the finely minced parsley and mint with the extra-virgin olive oil, vinegar, egg yolk, and red chile flakes to taste.
Arrange the anchovy fillets on a plate, cover them with the parsley sauce, and wrap with plastic wrap. Let the anchovies marinate in the fridge for at least 24 hours before serving them.
