1. Book Proposal for
100 Ways to Do Anchovies
(ghostwritten by Maureen Watts, Publishing Works, 01/02/12)
Overview
It’s been said that the world can be divided between two camps: those
who love anchovies and those who hate them. Cookbook author Lynn Nicholson
and Pacific Northwest top chef and restaurateur, John Nelson, are clearly from
the former camp, and are out to create many converts with their new cookbook,
100 Ways to Do Anchovies.
While Europeans have been enjoying anchovies for centuriesit’s
practically been a staple in some areas of Spain, Italy, and FranceAmericans
have taken their time to warm up to this “super fish”. They’ve pushed up their
noses at the mere mention of anchovies, proclaiming them: too salty, too fishy!
“However, most people would admit to never having really tried anchovies
outside of biting in to an overly salty, cheap anchovy fillet thrown on top of pizza,”
says chef Nelson.
The tides have been changing and Americans are beginning tooften
unknowinglyenjoy anchovies. While discerning diners are perusing menus,
fishing for savory bites or entrees that have that special something flavor they
can’t quite put their finger on, unbeknownst to them in many cases, the little
anchovy is often invisibly tucked in to even the simplest dishes to provide the

2. depth, richness, and otherworldliness that only alone the little anchovy can
provide.
If menus at top restaurants around the country are any indicator, the
anchovy has become hot. At Anchovies & Olives restaurant in Seattleone of
Bon Appetit’s “10 Best New Restaurants in America” they feature the Italian-
inspired Bagna Cauda, Fried Oysters with Anchovy Dressing, and a Beet Salad
with a White Anchovy Dressing, among other anchovy-inspired dishes. After
mostly making cameo appearances in Caesar salads and strewn atop pizzas,
today’s chefs have begun to drop their “don’t ask, don’t tell” policies regarding
their “secret ingredient” and are either slipping anchovies subtly in to their recipes
or boldly placing anchovies front and center on their menus. Suddenly, it seems,
people can’t get enough of the little fish with the big flavor.
Whether served with tomato and mint on top of bruschetta, whirled in to
salad dressings, blended in to mashed potatoes, or used to infuse main dishes of
pork or lamb to add rich depth, many chefs use the anchovy as their go-to
ingredient for adding a rich, round flavor, and a sharp scent to a large variety of
dishes.
“The anchovy is the culinary equivalent of the Wonderbra. It adds body to
flat food. But like the Wonderbra, nobody should suspect it is there,” wrote Julia
Watson, food columnist for ivillage.com.
The mystery behind anchovies is that they are loaded with “umami,” the
so-called fifth taste, an element in certain foods that lifts the flavors of everything
it’s blended with. This means you can blend a little anchovy with a grilling

3. rublike one with red wine, olive oil, garlic, and basiland it will help all the
flavors blossom while the anchovy will fade in to the background.
“The real reason most people are opposed to anchovies or think they
don’t like them is because they have never tasted a good-quality anchovy,
properly used,” says chef Nelson. The secret to learning to love the anchovy, he
explains, is knowing how to cook with them.
About the Book
The creative impetus behind 100 Ways to Do Anchovies stirred when
Nicholson and Nelson were working on their cookbook, 100 Ways to Do Caesar.
“I was doing research on anchovies for that cookbook, and realized there was no
definitive book on anchovies,” writes Nicholson. “I also discovered that anchovies
are a lot of chefs’ secret weapon.” The cookbook also spawned from John and
Lynn’s mutual love of anchovies. “It’s like we couldn’t stop talking about
anchovies, and coming up with new ideas for ways to use them in the kitchen,”
laughs Nicholson.
Nelson grew up in the Pacific Northwest where fish and seafood played a
big role in his childhood experiences. “When I was a kid running around the
docks, we used to jig for anchovies…which I thought was really fun. We ate a lot
of small fishes, and the natives all had smelt, herring, candlefish…they used
them for their oils and to burn. Anchovies and small fish felt like an essential part
of life.” Nelson’s Scandinavian roots are instilled with memories of his Swedish
aunt making herring casserole for breakfast. “Oh my God, was that good,”
exclaims Nelson. As a teenager, Nelson traveled through Europe and

4. remembers eating fresh anchovies, and wondering why people in the U.S. didn’t
eat these really healthy, little fish.
Beginning with his very first restaurant, Nelson started cooking with
anchovies. “From flat filets, to fresh or frozen, to paste. Because the flavor
imparts so much….the fat is your flavor distributor, plus you have that salt which
is also a flavor enhancer,” says Nelson. “Anchovies have been one of my ‘secret’
ingredients in my restaurant for years,” confides Nelson. “You know the saying:
what you don’t know, won’t hurt you?” Over time, however, nosey diners
demanded to know what was creating the depth, the divine ‘otherness’ of so
many of his dishes. “So I told them,” laughs Nelson. “I guess the fish is out of the
bag!”
Nicholson also grew up in the Pacific Northwest, in Seattle, and
remembers a restaurant at Pikes Place Market that served the classic Bagna
Cauda that she says “was to die for.” “That was my ‘ah-ha’ moment,” says
Nicholson. “That’s when I knew anchovies were a really top-secret ingredient that
I wanted to incorporate in to my cooking.” Of course, I first started using
anchovies in Caesar salads. In my late 20s, I started making my own
Worcestershire sauce and fish sauce. So cooking with anchovies has always
been a part of my cooking.”
Nicholson also has fond memories of eating fresh anchovies while
traveling through Spain and Portugal in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. “I remember
eating anchovies all the time there. Amazing tapas on the coast and in
Barcelona. Cheap and goodespecially deep fried anchoviesthey served
fresh, grilled anchovies as well. We ate fresh anchovies for breakfast and when I

5. bit in to a succulent anchovy stuffed olives and manchego cheese with
anchovies, I knew I would be in love with anchovies forever.”
For nearly two decades, Nicholson collected recipes that contain
anchovies. From there, she began experimenting, utilizing the anchovy’s
amazing versatility, veering from the recipes to instill her own favorite ingredients
and flavors.
When Nicholson and chef Nelson met and began working on their
cookbook, 100 Ways to Do Caesar, the two were like a match made in the sea.
Chef Nelson’s affinity for “anything fish or seafood” was equaled scale by scale
by Nicholson’s love for “all things anchovy.” It wasn’t long before the idea for 100
Ways to Do Anchovies was born.
“We wanted to show the versatility of the anchovy, that they aren’t just for
Caesar salads or as a topping for pizza,” explains Nicholson. In 100 Ways to Do
Anchovies, the two chefs reveal how anchovies are sensational additions to
everything from starters to salads, to main dishes and vegetables, as well as
sauces and seasonings. Home gourmands will become properly acquainted with
how to prepare the “king of fishes” in ways sure to spice up their culinary
repertoire.
100 Ways to Do Anchovies has recipes for sensational starters like
Creamy Bagna Cauda, Black Olive Tapenade, and Anchovy Fries with Smoky
Caesar Aioli to crisp Caesar Salad, to main dishes like Leg of Lamb with
Anchovy Sauce, Zarzuela Seafood Stew, and Skate with Anchovy, Basil and
Roasted Tomatoes, to classic Pasta Puttanesca, to exotic-tasting vegetables like
Asparagus with Anchovies and Capers or Onion Tart with Anchovy, to meaty and

6. rich sauces like Spicy Tomato Ragu or Arugula and Basil Olive Oil with Anchovy
Onion.
100 Ways to Do Anchovies will give home epicures that inside edge with
exciting new recipes harboring a “secret ingredient” while presenting bold new
flavors usually only found at the finest restaurants, master-minded by trend-
setting chefs. Best of all, all the recipes in 100 Ways to Do Anchovies are fun
and easy to make. Anchovies can be bought in advance as part of a well-stocked
pantry, and can also keep up to a year in the refrigerator, making them both
convenient and economical. Home cooks will delight in just how easy it is to turn
a seemingly ordinary meal in to something extra-flavorful and bold that will bring
their cooking quite easily to a whole new level.
“Anchovies are a powerful and indispensible ingredient any cook would be
hard pressed to replace. There are nearly endless ways to use them, and we
wanted this cookbook to showcase the anchovy and to inspire home cooks to
use them, experiment, surprise their dinner guests, and have fun,” says chef
Nelson.
100 Ways to Do Anchovies, authored by Nicholson with recipes from
both Nicholson and chef Nelson, will appeal to both novice and experienced
cooks. Here is the premier guide to learning how to cook and enjoy the amazing
little fish with the big flavor. The innovative and delicious recipes will provide a
whole new range of tastes and flavors for the home gourmet, and will be an
exciting and provocative addition to any home cooks’ kitchen bookshelf
collection.