My cupboards are rarely without a tin or two (or three) of tinned fish. Sardines, anchovies, tuna, smoked oysters: they’re all usually on standby, and I’m crazy about all of them. I find them very reassuring, too, because they mean I’m never more than about two minutes from a meal, whether they’re just spread on toast, or mixed with a little Tabasco and lemon juice, perhaps, or some soured cream and herbs. I also use them to dial up all kinds of other dishes – pizza and pasta, say, delight in tinned fish as much as toast does, as do potato salads – and they can even be the main reason to make a particular dish. Starring role, not standby.
Tinned fish crostata (pictured top)
Crostata, or Italian pies, are usually associated with sweet, jammy fillings, but they also work as savoury dishes, too. Double carbs and a tin of fish: happy days. Use whatever tinned fish you have to hand: this is equally delicious made with mackerel, anchovies or tuna. Make more of the chermoula than you need: it keeps well in the fridge for a good few days and is lovely spooned on, among other things, toast with a(nother) tin of fish. Or don’t make it at all and just buy some in. Serve with a crisp, green salad.
Prep 20 min
Cook 45 min
Serves 4
For the crostata
1 potato (150-200g), unpeeled, very thinly sliced (use a mandoline, ideally)
120g tin sardines (or other fish) in olive oil, drained and oil reserved, fish broken into small pieces
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
5g thyme sprigs, leaves picked
75g creme fraiche, plus 50g extra for serving
½ tsp chilli flakes
½ tsp nigella seeds
10g picked fresh dill leaves, roughly chopped
Flaky sea salt and black pepper
325g block puff pastry
1 tbsp milk
1 shallot, peeled, cut into ½cm-thick rings and separated (70g)
25g capers, drained and roughly chopped
For the chermoula
25g coriander leaves, roughly chopped
10g parsley leaves, roughly chopped
10g capers
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
½ tsp chilli flakes
2 tsp apple cider vinegar, or white-wine vinegar
75ml olive oil
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Put the sliced potato in a bowl with the oil from the tin of sardines, the garlic, thyme, creme fraiche, chilli flakes, nigella, dill, half a teaspoon of salt and a quarter-teaspoon of ground black pepper. Toss gently with your hands, just to combine, and set aside.
Cut out a piece of greaseproof paper the same size as a large baking tray, then lay it on the tray. Put the pastry on top of the paper, roll it out into a 2mm-thick 25cm square then cut out a 25cm-diameter circle. Twirl and twist the trimmings into cheese straw shapes, then attach them to the outside of the circle, so they look a bit like a pizza crust – brush the sticks with milk to help them stick and to give the finished pie a nice shine. Layer the potatoes all over the pastry base, so they’re overlapping slightly, then sprinkle on the shallots and capers. Bake for 30 minutes, then scatter over the pieces of sardine and bake for another 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fully cooked through.
While the crostata is baking, make the chermoula. Put all the ingredients and a quarter-teaspoon of ground black pepper in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
Take the crostata out of the oven and drizzle half the chermoula over the top. Stir the remaining 50g creme fraiche to loosen it, then drizzle it over the crostata. Serve with the rest of the chermoula alongside.
Conchiglie with smoked oyster sauce
Tinned smoked oysters feel as if they should be my guilty secret, but I feel no guilt and there is no secret. In fact, there was a time when I easily got through at least a tin a week, usually just piled on to toast, but sometimes more involved, as with the original version of this recipe. If you aren’t a fan of them, use another tinned smoked fish of your choice.
Prep 15 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 2
For the garlic breadcrumbs
1 tsp olive oil
10g breadcrumbs, panko for preference
1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
¼ tsp chilli flakes
Flaky sea salt and black pepper
For the smoked oyster pasta
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped (100g)
400g tin peeled plum tomatoes, drained of juice and roughly chopped
½ tsp sugar
5g thyme leaves
10g parsley, leaves and soft stems finely chopped
340g tinned smoked oysters (ie, 2 tins)
150g conchiglie, or other large pasta of your choice
First make the garlic breadcrumbs. Put a large frying pan on a medium heat, add the olive oil and panko, and toast gently for three minutes, just until the crumbs start to colour. Add the garlic, chilli flakes and a quarter-teaspoon of ground black pepper, cook for a minute more, then tip on to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain.
Put the oil in the same pan, still on a medium heat, then add the onion and a half-teaspoon of salt, and saute, stirring occasionally, for six minutes. Add the tomatoes, sugar, half the thyme and parsley, and a half-teaspoon each of salt and ground black pepper, turn down the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the tinned oysters and their oil, then take off the heat.
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil, add a tablespoon of salt, then drop in the pasta and cook until al dente, or according to the packet instructions. Drain the conchiglie, saving three tablespoons of the pasta cooking water, and stir the pasta into the sauce. Add the rest of the chopped herbs, then toss and stir to combine, adding pasta water to help emulsify and loosen the mix, if need be.
Divide the pasta between two shallow bowls, top each with a pinch of salt and a few twists of black pepper, scatter over the garlic breadcrumbs and serve at once.
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