One of the most unpopular fishes, anchovies are the culinary equivalent of the Wonderbra. They add body to any dish.

Use them instead of salt in stews and meat-and-tomato dishes to give an extra depth of flavor to the sauce.

Crumble and press one or two of them into a mush with the back of a wooden spoon and add them to a deglazing sauce in a pan.

The best ones to buy for texture as well as flavor are those sold in glass jars and stored in salt to preserve them, which you should gently wash off under running water.  If they're on the bone, it will peel off with ease.

Listen to my defence of this pungent little swimmer on NPR's All Things Considered:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1143340

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