I enjoyed this dish in Vernazza, a small village in the Cinque Terre region of Italy's Ligurian coast. A "tegame" is a cooking vessel, so this dish's name translates to "casserole in the style of Vernazza". <br /> <br />That version used fresh anchovies, a fish, alas, that we just don't see in our supermarket seafood case. I have used canned oil-packed anchovies here, but it works well with soaked, salt-packed anchovies, or other oily canned fish like tuna, sardines or herring. <br /> <br />There is a bit of slicing, but if you have a Benriner or other mandoline-type device, it goes pretty quickly. (If not, a sharp knife will be your friend.) <br /> <br />This recipe calls for 1/2 cup of olive oil; this is not a typo. Serve the final dish with bread for soaking up all the delicious, tomato-rich oil that is produced during the baking time. <br />There is no added salt in the recipe (other than that used in the water to parcook the potatoes). I find the anchovies give enough salt to the dish, but if you use another fish, you may want to sprinkle a little salt in as you're building your layers.

Share: