Salt Pilchard Recipes

Storage: Salt pilchards should be stored in fridge if possible but technically require nothing more than a cool area, out of direct sunlight and away from sources of heat. The main reason behind this is simply odour. Once a pack of pilchards gets warm, you will soon know about it, as well as for the next few days! The original reason for the salting was to be able to send the fish to remote Italian mountain villages where there was no electricity - or refrigeration. While all products are stamped with a best before date, it is somewhat irrelevant. Our sample was 8 years old when we gave up trying to see if they would go off. They even tasted better than one year old fish!

Preparation: You are trying to remove a fillet from each side of the fish, leaving a head and tail attached by a backbone with as little meat as possible on. Lay the fish on a table, slicing in just behind the gills, knife angled towards the tail of the fish. If the knife is sharp and slightly flexible you should be able to just slice through the fish, from head to tail. Once the fillet is off the bone you can remove the skin, just like double sided tape. Start at the front off the fish and slightly bend the fillet away from the skin as you tear it off; it should come off in one piece most of the time.

Recipes: Salt pilchards can be enjoyed hot or cold. Due their strong taste salt pilchards should primarily be considered an addition to a dish rather than a meal in themselves. Amongst other things they are ideal marinated with an aperitif, and are the crucial ingredient in Spaghetti alla Puttanesca


Orange and Salt Pilchard Salad Recipe
This recipe originated in Sasso Marconi, Italy. Cornish Pilchards have been exported there since 1550, so this is a very traditional recipe, wonderfully combining sweet and sour tastes.

Method
1) Peel and segment one large orange, so you are left with the pith in the middle.
2) Thinly slice two salt piclhard fillets
3) Add some freshly chopped oregano or basil
4) Add some parsley and olive oil
5) Mix well, refrigerate for one hour
6) Serve on a bed of fresh, crisp lettuce


Marinated Salt Pilchard Recipe for Aperitif or Starter

Method
1) Fillet and skin two salt pilchards. Cut diagonally into 1cm pieces.
2) Place in a dish and cover with good olive oil.
3) Add sliced fresh garlic, chopped basil and parsley.
3) Add a few thinly sliced red chilli and some sun dried tomatoes
4) Marinate for a couple of days

Serve with either super fresh bread, drizzled with the olive oil. Alternatively toast one side of a slice of bread and spread some of the marinade and olive oil on the untoasted side, before placing under the grill for a few minutes.

Best served with a strong Italian wine or an aperitif such as Ricard


Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca - Spaghetti "Whore Style" - Serves 6

Ingredients
1 lb. cooked spaghetti
3 oz. extra-virgin olive oil
3 oz. pitted brown olives (preferably Gaeta or Nicoise)
1 lb. ripe tomatoes
3 oz. salt pilchard fillets
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 de-seeded red chilli
1 1/2 oz. capers
salt

Method
1) Chop the pilchards and peel the tomatoes, dispense with the seeds and cut into small chunks.
2) Pour the oil in a warmed skillet and add the garlic and red chilli, cut in little pieces. Cover. Cook over medium heat until the garlic browns. Remove garlic and add the salt pilchard fillets. Add tomatoes, olives and capers (well washed). Stir and let cook for about 7 mins. Taste the sauce for seasoning. Add spaghetti to sauce in skillet, toss well and serve.

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