The Common Italian Ingredient Giada De Laurentiis Thinks People Should Be Using More Often

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Italian cuisine is particularly good at making nutritious ingredients taste delicious. While it may appear to some as predominantly cheese, dough, and tomatoes, Italian food actually incorporates many aspects of Mediterranean cuisine, which is widely considered one of the world's best diets. Like Mediterranean food, Italian dishes also incorporate a lot of fresh, plant-based ingredients and healthy fats. In her book "Super-Italian," chef, cookbook author, and television personality Giada De Laurentiis focuses on that very aspect — Italy's superfoods. While her book delves into the benefits of olive oil, cruciferous vegetables, beans, and more, De Laurentiis takes particular note of small, oily fish like sardines and anchovies, and makes the case for how they should be used more often in home cooking.

Nutrient-dense with essential fatty acids, anchovies are often overlooked in American kitchens because of their strong flavor and aroma. However, that is exactly why they make such delicious ingredients. Sometimes, it is seeing raw or whole anchovies that puts people off, even though they might enjoy the fish's flavor when incorporated in a dish. A very common example is Caesar salad, a crowd favorite that actually uses mashed anchovies as a base in the dressing. In her book, De Laurentiis says, "Anchovies were a fixture in our kitchen when I was a kid, and lately I've gone a little anchovy crazy, adding them to dressings, stews, and pastas, as an underlying layer of flavor." Considering De Laurentiis' cooking tips are always easy to follow and great for elevating dishes, incorporating anchovies can be just as simple and effective as adding parmesan rind to pasta sauce.

One of Giada De Laurentiis' go-to hacks for incorporating anchovies is using anchovy paste since fillets can look unappetizing to some. While even a fillet quickly disintegrates when cooked, anchovy paste dissolves at room temperature, making it more versatile. The flavor is a deep, salty umami that remains in the background, so as long as you don't add too much, and makes notes from other ingredients pop. 

Another great fillet substitute that gets De Laurentiis' approval is anchovy oil or anchovy extract like Rizzoli's fish sauce. The former is actually among De Laurentiis' favorite pantry staples. This is the easiest way to incorporate the deep flavor that the little fish brings. One of the ways to use up leftover oil from canned anchovies is to simply use it to fry garlic, and then use that as a flavorful base for your dish. However, it's worth noting that the health benefits of anchovy paste and extract can be different from the fillets depending on how they are processed.

While staple Italian dishes whose recipes call for anchovies are the best place to start using the nutritious oily fish, opportunities abound in the kitchen for incorporating their umami notes. A dash goes a long way in boosting the flavor of a creamy mushroom pasta sauce or a simple olive tapenade. You can also add the fish to meat glazes or drizzle a little anchovy oil on pizza. Another one of De Laurentiis' tricks is to make garlicky anchovy breadcrumbs, which can then be used to top any number of dishes like pasta, salads, and soups — the possibilities are endless.