Erica De Mane

Still Life with Anchovies, Antonio Sicurezza, 1972.

Recipe: Asparagus with Anchovy Almond Breadcrumbs

In my ongoing quest to work a little anchovy into just about every dish I put on the table, I’ve recently revisited the  marriage of asparagus and anchovies.  I’d been focusing on using asparagus in gentle spring pastas or with herby vinaigrettes, forgetting how well it stands up to bolder flavors. I don’t know why I let this beautiful match drift away, but it has now found its way back to my kitchen, and my life is much improved.

Actually, to my Southern Italian palate, almost all green vegetables go well with a hit of anchovy, except possibly spinach. I just can’t make that taste association. When spinach was first introduced to Sicily by the Arabs, around 800 A.D., the natives soon sent it packing, and it moved north, where it found its true Italian home. And, with Catherine de’ Medici’s love of it, the vegetable eventually became associated with the dishes of Florence, her birthplace. Southern Italians don’t do much with spinach, preferring greens with a touch of bitter. It’s almost impossible to find in the markets down there, maybe because it goes better with cream and fontina than with anchovies.

At any rate, anchovies are certainly excellent with asparagus, and I’ve given this recipe a full-on Southern treatment. For my breadcrumbs I used ground up taralli, which worked great. (Try to find an imported brand, such as Puglia Sapori. They have the best flavor.) I didn’t even have to toast them. I just stuck them in my food processor along with a handful of almonds, mixed that with the anchovies and a few other strong flavors, and came up with an instant topping for my fresh-from-New Jersey asparagus. Try this with grilled rosemary-flavored lamb chops.

(Serves 3 to 4 as a side dish or first course)

1 large bunch medium-thick spring asparagus, ends trimmed, and stalks peeled if they seem tough
8 plain taralli, roughly ground in a food processor (you’ll want about ¾ cup ground)
½ cup blanched almonds, lightly toasted and then roughly ground in a food processor
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
7 oil-packed anchovies, minced
The grated zest and juice from 1 medium lemon
8 large thyme sprigs, leaves lightly chopped
2 small cloves of fresh spring garlic, minced
Salt
Piment d’Espelette or another medium hot, dried, ground chili

Blanch the asparagus spears in a pot of boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes, depending on their thickness. You’ll want them left a bit crunchy. Scoop them from the water into a bowl of ice water to cool and bring up their green color. Drain well.

When you’re ready to serve the asparagus, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a medium skillet, heat about 3 tablespoons of olive oil with the butter, over low heat. Add the anchovies, and let them melt into the oils. Turn off the heat, and add the ground taralli, almonds, and the rest of the ingredients, seasoning with a pinch of salt and the hot chili to taste. Mix everything well. The crumbs should be moist. If they seem dry, add more olive oil.

Place the asparagus spears in a baking dish that fits them snugly with some overlap. Drizzle them with a little olive oil and a pinch of salt, turning them around in it to coat them lightly. Evenly sprinkle on the taralli mixture. Now bake until the crumbs are just crisp, about 12 minutes or so. Serve hot or warm.