After ages spent as an afterthought — when there was nothing else in the house to eat for lunch, my grandmother would reach for the King Oscar sardines — tinned fish is finally enjoying some time in the sun. Americans have awakened to the oily, tangy, umami-rich flavors of preserved anchovies, squid, mussels, and more. There's a lot you can do with this stuff, and : Toss that squid in a salad with a lemony vinaigrette, use anchovies to build flavor in a pasta sauce (or ), even make like Grandma and enjoy chunks of sardine as part of a rustic lunch with cheese, a soft-boiled egg, and some good bread.
Indeed, tinned fish doesn't have to be a food of last resort. And there's no better illustration of its potential for glamour than the tinned-fish charcuterie board — or "seacuterie" board, as folks have taken to calling it. Swapping out cured meats with varieties of preserved seafood demonstrates, first and foremost, the impressive, mouth-watering range of products available right now, from scallops in smoky Galician sauce to Danish freshwater trout with juniper and thyme.
It also demonstrates how well this kind of food also pairs with traditional charcuterie accompaniments, from cheese and bread to pickles and sliced raw veggies. Of course, it doesn't hurt that tinned fish is better for you than cured meat, better for the environment, and often more affordable. Let us count the ways.
Delicious, affordable fishy things come in small packages Pound for pound, tinned fish is .