How Nigella Lawson Substitutes Anchovies In Her Recipes

Anchovies are a little bit like a culinary sleight of hand. They are the umami-packed ingredient that amplifies store-bought tomato sauces and are often slipped into salads and dressings without much fanfare, all the while delivering a deep and salty hit that really changes the flavor profile. But sometimes you don't have any available, or perhaps you're cooking for plant-based guests, and when that's the case, Nigella Lawson uses black olives as a replacement. And it makes sense; finely chopped good quality black olives will bring a similar brininess, saltiness, and richness as anchovies.

The difference between black and green olives is more than just color; black olives are actually harvested later, which is what gives them their deeper flavor, ideal for when you need some of that anchovy-level savoriness without the fish. Lawson leans on that mellow complexity in her recipe for spaghetti with chard, chili, and anchovies, suggesting that if you fold minced black olives into sauces, they will be an adequate substitute provided you get the good quality semi-dried ones, or the unpitted ones in olive oil, not just the cheap ones in brine from a jar. You can also add some minced capers to the black olives to really double down on the salty hit.

Of course, Nigella Lawson being the brilliant chef she is, doesn't just stop at olives, suggesting another unexpected pairing for those avoiding anchovies: Add more garlic and a little Marmite (or Vegemite if that's what's in the cupboard) to the sauce. And at first glance, it may sound odd that these two together would be a substitute for anchovies, but both of those spreads (as well as garlic) are loaded with umami in much a similar way to anchovies. And if you don't know the difference between Marmite and Vegemite, Marmite is sweeter and smoother while Vegemite is a bit more bitter, and either works beautifully as an anchovy alternative when paired with an added punch from the garlic.

There's also a practicality to this replacement. If you don't have a tin of anchovies lying around then odds are you may not have some good quality olives in the house either, but a jar of Marmite or Vegemite can be found in many pantries. And by pairing either one with extra garlic, the breakfast spreads turn into savory cooking liquid gold. Both the black olives and the spreads are clever cooking at its best, turning ordinary items into something quietly extraordinary and flavorsome.