The Secret Ingredient (Anchovy): Halibut Poached in Olive Oil with Chunky Tapenade Recipe

Anchovies are seemingly ubiquitous in world cuisine. They appear in fish sauce, in Worcestershire sauce, in remoulade, on pizza. But primarily, they are the mainstay of the Mediterranean. Anchovy filets are melted into olive oil to dress greens and vegetables and pasta. They are the not-so-secret ingredient in pissaladiere, anchoïade, and Salade Niçoise, and a somewhat secret ingredient in tapenade. According to Wikipedia, ancient Romans used to consume the little fish raw as an ancient-day aphrodisiac equivalent to oysters, and they have long been prized for their pungency after preservation.

Typically, anchovies are packed in salt, or canned in oil, or sold as paste. To temper that distinctive salinity, anchovy filets can be soaked in milk, and eaten without much trepidation.

This dish is an homage to the anchovy's Mediterranean home. Filets of halibut are poached in olive oil, then topped with a chunky and deconstructed tapenade, in which the olives, anchovies, and capers remain close to whole—an exposé of the secret ingredient that distinguishes tapenade from the simpler olivade.