Anchovies with Cime di Rapa

Great foods should have a sense of mystery: From sweet Spanish hams to the fragrant wheels of Parmesan cheese, from the fruity drama of figs and pomegranates to the alluring nightshades of aubergines and peppers. Stretching from Spain and North Africa to Italy and the Middle East tinned and jarred food have a glorious reputation not just as a store cupboard staple but as a mysterious and evocative link to the mediterraneans shared culture. Tinned anchovies in olive oil are the midnight treat of preserves. They are the base note for many dishes and sauces. Their saltiness compliments the sweet, like onions and tomatoes and they love the company of garlic, butter, lemon, capers and olives. They add complexity to meat, particularly lamb.
Anchovies coating the spring green cime di rapa (turnip tops) makes for a subatantial starter.

Ingredients

Serves 4
100g good quality tinned anchovies
½ chopped red chilli.
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced.
Butter.
olive oil.
Cime di rapa (turnip tops) or purple sprouting broccoli.
Put a good dash of olive oil in a pan, followed by a knob of butter. Add the garlic and chilli and stir for one minute. Pour the anchovies with its oil into the pan. Melt them (sciotte in Italian) till you get a rich unctuous sauce. Meanwhile blanch the cime di rapa in boiling water for one minute to get rid of its slight bitternes. Drain the cime di rape and tip into the sauce. Stir to coat all the leaves. Serve straight way on its own or mixed with orecchiette pasta, traditionaly served with cime di rape in the Puglia region of southern Italy.
If using purple sprouting broccoli, blanch or steam for about 2 minutes before adding to the sauce.

Ken Doherty is a chef and journalist