Rice with Anchovy

Sample Dishes from Turkish Cuisine

Rice with Anchovy (Hamsili Pilav / İçli Tava)

Preparation

Clean the fish, wash and remove the bones, add 1 teaspoon of salt and mix. Leave in colander for 15 minutes to drain. Wash the parsley and separate the leaves. Peel the onions, wash, chop finely and put in a saucepan. Spare 1 tablespoon of the oil and add the rest and the pine nuts to the saucepan, close the lid and saute them for 10 minutes, stirring occasionaly. Stir them a couple of more times until the nuts turn dark. Wash and drain the rice, add to the onions and stir some more. Add the water and the remaining salt, stir, sprinkle with currants and cook for 15-20 minutes on first medium size then low heat until all the water is absorbed. Chop the parsley finely, add to the rice together with blackpepper and the sugar and toss. Grease the botttom and the sides of a teflon or heat-proof glass baking dish with 1 tablespoon oil. Place the anchovy on the bottom and the sides of the dish with backs toward the dish. Place the pilaf over the fish. Cover the rice with the remaining anchovy, this time with the backs up. Bake them in pre-heated moderate oven for about 30 minutes and turn upside down onto a serving plate

Servings: 6

Nutritional Value
(in approximately one serving)

Notes

This is another well-known dish from the Black Sea Region. Served at lunch or dinner as a single course with a side dish of seasons's vegetable salad. In some regions it is prepared by frying in special copper pans. Rice pilaf with anchovy can also be prepared in individual casseroles of one serving.