Black Sea Anchovy Cornbread
Dense savory cornmeal bread filled with anchovies, chard, spring onions and herbs.
Artvin style
Last updated:
Last updated:
Black Sea Anchovy Rice
Hamsili Pilav
Spiced rice with currants, pine nuts and dill enclosed in a browned anchovy shell.
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 55 min
- Rest
- 10 min
- Total
- 1 hr 40 min
- Servings
- 6
Ingredients
- 2 lb Anchovies (European, cleaned, boneless, butterflied)
- 300 g Rice (Baldo, raw), rinsed and drained
- 1 Onion, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp Pine nuts
- 2 tbsp Currants (dried), rinsed
- ¼ cup Olive oil, divided
- 2 ¼ cups Water (hot)
- ½ tsp Allspice (ground)
- ½ tsp Pepper (black, ground)
- ¼ cup Chopped fresh dill, with a little reserved to finish
- 1 tsp Table salt, or less to taste
Method
Heat three-quarters of the oil. Soften onion for 7–8 minutes and stir in pine nuts for 2 minutes. Add rice, currants, spices and salt; stir for 1 minute. Add hot water, cover and simmer gently for 8–10 minutes. The rice should still be slightly firm.
Heat the oven to 390°F. Oil the dish with the remaining oil. Line the base and sides with overlapping anchovies, skin against the dish, leaving some overhanging the rim. Reserve enough fish to cover the top.
Fold most of the dill into the warm rice. Spoon into the lined dish without packing hard. Fold overhanging fish inward, then cover exposed rice with the reserved fish, skins facing up.
Bake for 25–30 minutes, or longer if needed, until the fish is browned and the rice is fully tender. Check the center through a small opening; add a little hot water and continue covered if the rice remains firm.
The thickest fish flesh reaches 145°F; check for any remaining bones when serving.
Rest 10 minutes, loosen carefully and turn onto a plate, or serve from the dish. Finish with reserved dill. Cool leftover rice dishes promptly in shallow containers, ideally within 1 hour, then refrigerate and use within 24 hours. Reheat only once until steaming hot throughout.
Cooking guidance
Use a shallow 9-inch ovenproof dish and butterflied boneless anchovies. Lay their skins against the dish so the fish skin faces outward when turned out.
Related recipes
Baked Sea Bream
Whole sea bream roasted with thin potatoes, tomato, green pepper and lemon.
Bonito with Tomato and Onion
Atlantic bonito steaks baked over soft onions and tomatoes with bay and lemon.
Fish Sandwich
Hot mackerel in crusty bread with crisp lettuce, sliced onion, lemon and optional sumac.
Fried Anchovies
Small anchovies with a light cornmeal crust, served with lemon and red onion.
Fried Turbot
Lightly floured turbot steaks fried until golden, with sumac onions and lemon.
Grilled Bluefish
Simply grilled bluefish with lemon, rocket and sumac onions.
Sea Bass Baked in Paper
Whole sea bass baked in a parchment parcel with tomato, onion, lemon and dill.
Spinach and Cheese Flatbread
Thin hand-rolled flatbreads enclosing spinach, white cheese, onion and herbs.
Steamed Grouper
Thick grouper steaks gently cooked over potatoes, carrots, tomato and lemon.
Stuffed Anchovy Pairs
Pairs of small anchovies enclosing a little onion and herbs, crisped in a light cornmeal coating. This version sandwiches two butterflied anchovies. Hamsi kuşu also has other local shapes and mixtures; the name does not imply one fixed recipe. Use very little filling so each pair stays closed.
Thin Flatbread with Spiced Meat
Thin oval flatbreads carry an onion-free topping of lamb, garlic, tomato, peppers and parsley. The finely chopped filling is spread to the edges and baked on a hot surface until the base is cooked and the edges crisp.