Grilled Anchovies

There is nothing more typical of summer in Istria or Dalmatia than a piping hot plate of grilled anchovies served alongside a glass of white wine.

Cleaning anchovies

If you have bought fresh anchovies it’s better to clean them as soon as possible because they deteriorate faster than almost any other fish.

Cleaning them is not hard, although it can be time-consuming if you plan a big lunch. Start by washing your anchovies. It is usually done under cold running water or in a bowl of ice water.

Anchovies have unusually large scales for such small fish. Scale them by scraping them backward — tail to head — with a butter knife.

The easiest way to remove innards is by running your thumb along the belly.

You can remove the heads if you want.

Once you have scaled them and cleaned the innards, rinse them all off and pat dry.

Let’s grill them!

Sparkle the anchovies with the mixture of wine and olive oil, and some salt.

Grill them 4 minutes on each side.

Once they are done pour some olive oil over them.

Enjoy your meal!

We usually put on the table a mixture of olive oil, parsley and minced garlic which can be poured over the fish. And some lemon juice for those who avoid garlic.