Tomatoes Dressed in Toasted Fennel and Anchovy

8 ingredients•Prep: 10 mins•Cook: 4 mins

Santa Anna

•

June 11, 2025

There are tomatoes, sure, but we are really here for the anchovy-fennel oil used to dress the tomatoes. It’s spicy, salty and deeply savory, and great on everything from other thinly sliced raw vegetables (summer squash, cucumbers, fennel, radishes) to cooked ones (sautéed greens, roasted eggplant or broccoli). Spoon it into pasta, drizzle on eggs, use as a dip for bread, etc. You get the idea.

Ingredients (8)

Olive oil(½ cup)
Fennel seeds(2 Tbsp, crushed)
Aleppo-style pepper(2 tsp)
or crushed red pepper flakes, use half the amount
Anchovy fillets(8)
plus more if you like
Small tomatoes(2–3 lb)
Red or white wine vinegar(2 Tbsp)
Flaky sea salt
Coarsely ground black pepper

Instructions

Heat the olive oil (½ cup) in a small pot over medium heat.
Add the fennel seeds (2 Tbsp), Aleppo-style pepper (2 tsp), and anchovies (8), swirling and toasting until the spices are fragrant and the anchovies are melted, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Scatter the tomatoes (2–3 lb) on a large serving platter or in a shallow bowl. Drizzle with the vinegar (2 Tbsp) and, if you want, scatter with more anchovies (or just serve alongside in their little tin for snacking on).
Spoon the toasted fennel–anchovy mixture over and top with flaky salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Notes

Do Ahead

The toasted fennel–anchovy oil can be made up to 2 weeks ahead, tightly covered, and stored in the refrigerator. The tomatoes can be sliced 1 hour ahead, if you must, but are really best if sliced, dressed, and served immediately.

This is a premium recipe and is only available to subscribers with full access subscriptions

Already have a paid subscription?