Why it’s time to rediscover tinned fish
For years, tinned fish had something of an image problem. Tuna was destined for sandwiches, sardines were something your grandparents ate on toast and anchovies were the things people picked off pizzas. But somewhere along the way, tinned fish became rather fashionable.
Beautifully packaged tins of sardines, anchovies, tuna and mackerel now appear in smart delis and restaurants, while the Portuguese and Spanish tradition of serving exceptional preserved seafood simply – sometimes straight from the tin – has found a new generation of admirers.
And quite rightly, too. Because good tinned fish is one of the most useful things you can have in the cupboard.
Not all tins are created equal
If your experience of tinned fish begins and ends with a basic tin of tuna, it’s worth starting again.
At its best, preserving fish in a tin isn’t simply about making it last longer. Good-quality fish is carefully prepared and packed, often in excellent olive oil, so that the flavour and texture are preserved.
Some fish can actually develop in flavour while sitting in the tin, rather like other preserved and matured foods.
The result can be plump sardines, meaty pieces of tuna or intensely savoury anchovy fillets that bear little resemblance to the cheapest versions we may remember.
Anchovies: the little ingredient that changes everything
Even people who insist they don't like anchovies may be eating rather more of them than they realise.
Used sparingly, anchovies don't necessarily make a dish taste of fish. Instead, they melt into sauces and dressings, adding a deep savouriness that can be difficult to identify but which makes everything taste better.
Try gently melting a couple of anchovy fillets into olive oil with garlic before adding tomatoes for a pasta sauce. Add one to a lamb or beef stew, mash a little into butter for vegetables or whisk into a salad dressing.
They are one of the best secret weapons you can keep in the fridge.
Sardines deserve another chance
Sardines are perhaps the fish most in need of rehabilitation.
Forget the rather apologetic sardine sandwich. Good sardines need very little doing to them.
Pile them onto toasted sourdough rubbed with garlic, add a squeeze of lemon and a little black pepper and you have an excellent lunch in minutes. Serve them with warm new potatoes, parsley and a sharp vinaigrette, or alongside tomatoes, white beans and red onion for an easy supper.
And if they're packed in good olive oil, don't automatically pour it away. Taste it first – it can be delicious spooned over toast or incorporated into a dressing.
Upgrade your tuna
Tinned tuna can be so much more than sandwich filling.
Good tuna packed in olive oil has a firm, almost steak-like texture and deserves to be treated as an ingredient in its own right.
Use generous pieces in a Niçoise-style salad, toss through pasta with capers, lemon and parsley, or serve simply with good tomatoes, cannellini beans and finely sliced red onion.
The trick is not to break it up too much. Leave some decent-sized pieces intact and it becomes the star of the dish rather than disappearing into it.
Make tinned fish part of aperitivo
Perhaps the easiest way to appreciate really good preserved fish is to do very little to it at all.
Take inspiration from Spain, Portugal and Italy and serve a few different tins as part of an informal spread with drinks.
Add some good bread or crisp crostini, olives, lemon wedges, perhaps a bowl of marinated vegetables and a chilled bottle of something delicious. Suddenly those little tins look considerably more glamorous.
It’s also a wonderfully easy way to entertain. Most of the ingredients can live happily in the cupboard until they're needed and there's almost no cooking involved.
Five easy ways to use a tin tonight
If you have good tinned fish in the cupboard, supper is rarely far away. Try sardines on toast with lemon and parsley; tuna with white beans, tomatoes and red onion; anchovies melted into a simple tomato pasta sauce; mackerel with warm potatoes and a mustardy dressing; or a selection of preserved fish with bread, olives and antipasti for an instant Mediterranean supper.
None requires much preparation. The important thing is starting with fish that's good enough to be noticed.
A little luxury for the store cupboard
There is something rather satisfying about having a few beautiful tins tucked away. They last for ages, require no planning and can turn bread, pasta, potatoes or a handful of salad ingredients into a proper meal.
At Gastro Nicks, you'll find carefully selected tinned and preserved fish alongside the olive oils, pasta, antipasti and other deli ingredients to serve with them. And, of course, if all this talk of fish has put you in the mood for the fresh variety, you'll find plenty of that on our fish counter too.
If your memories of tinned fish aren't particularly inspiring, come and have another look. You may be surprised by just how good a tin can be.