In Slate: The Italian Anchovy Juice That Might Change Your Life

Slate Magazine has caught the colatura bug! In this recent article, Bill Tonelli praises the glory of colatura. He literally cannot say enough good things about colatura.

He also credits one of our favorite food writers, Erica De Mane, as being an early adapter of colatura in her blog piece where she refers to it as “an elegant, stinky syrup” (and yes, by “early” adapter, we mean centuries after the Romans).

Signore Tonelli’s passion for colatura just cracks us up with pleasure, he ends his article by saying “I won’t even try to describe it. If you are the kind of person who believes that consuming juice squeezed from salty little fishes can be a transformative experience, then you’ll know what I mean. If you’re not, forget I opened my mouth.” Ha!

Here is his recipe for Aglio e Olio with Colatura!

Join the Conversation

  1. This is so good! I made this last summer at least once a week my family loved it!

  2. William Moore says:

    January 15, 2016

    De vera! Colatura di Alici is wonderful. This product is so unique and its flavor is subtle yet bold. I’m very interested in classical archaeology and the ancient Romans in particular. I’ve read recipes to produce this at home and I’ve been wanting to try to do it, one of the problems: getting fresh anchovies. I’ve spoken to several fish markets and they never seem to have fresh anchovies, even in season, there’s never any demand. Second, I understand that the process smells rather funky and must be done outdoors In fact., the ancient Roman city of Pompeii had a rather large garum industry and these producers were located on the outskirts of the city for this reason. Garum is the ancient name for Colatura di Alici. I live in San Francisco, a seafood city and I was surprised with all the people of Italian descent, many have never heard of this product, much less tasted it! One of my favorite uses for this is in Caesar salad dressing! Some people don’t like anchovies in their Caesar Salad., but for me, anchovies make it a Caesar Salad. You make the dressing thus: The quantities are up to you, but here goes with my recipe. In a small pint jar with a tight fitting lid, 1/2 cup of your best extra virgin olive oil, the juice of one lemon, freshly squeezed, several grinds of fresh pepper, a generous pinch of dried oregano, a splash of Worcestershire sauce, and a teaspoon or so of Colatura di Alici. Notice I didn’t add any salt! The Colatura is naturally salty and gives your dressing the right hit of anchovy flavor without having to add anchovies to your Caesar salad, but hey, I love anchovies and ALWAYS add them to a Caesar Salad I make at home. Close the lid and shake well. Pour generously over your prepared Romaine lettuce, add your grated Parm, and toss well. My partner didn’t like anchovies at all until I introduced him to Colatura, and now, he loves anchovies. One more thing, a Caesar salad needs lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Make sure the Romaine lettuce is washed and dried well as watery lettuce dilutes the delicious dressing. Salute!

  3. Hi, Where is the recipe or link to the recipe?

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