Acciughe al verde (anchovies in green sauce) are a typical Piedmontese antipasto, but just why is it that anchovies play such an important role in this region’s food?
Several hundreds of years ago, salt, an essential element for preserving food, which arrived in Piedmont from the saltpans in Provence, became extremely expensive due to the considerable taxes that were applied to it.
It became necessary to find a way to procure salt without having to pay so much money to the customs authorities.
The traders had an idea: they began purchasing anchovies, which were very cheap, from Liguria, and using them to cover salt packed into barrels, hiding it from the customs officials and becoming, to all intents and purposes, smugglers.
It turned out that the people of Piedmont liked this fish very much, and the smugglers found that a lot of money could be made from selling the anchovies as well as the salt.
The first anchovy traders set up business and laid the foundations for the birth of new culinary tradition.
Glass jar - 180 g
Ingredients:
58% anchovies, 37% olive oil, 3% parsley, 1% garlic, 1% chilli, salt.