Question: A recipe calls for anchovy. All I know is that it is a salty fish. Can you give me some information on it, particularly how to reduce the salt content? Is there a substitute for it? — Faye, Greenacres

Answer: Anchovies are a small variety of sea fish of the herring family, with silvery sides and greenish-blue backs. They are generally caught for the canning industry, mostly in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean along Southern Europe. They are rarely available fresh even in Europe.

These sardine-sized fish are most commonly available here in flat vacuum-packed cans in fillet form, or sometimes in glass jars, both preserved in oil and salt. The jars are preferred by the cognocenti for superior flavor. Anchovies may also be available whole in specialty markets, dry-packed in salt.

Beware that anchovies have a strong flavor, and it may take some time getting used to. They are generally used though only as an accent, both in cooked and uncooked dishes. It is quite pricey, too, although a little does the job adequately. Their other characteristic is strong saltiness, as you have pointed out.

So, omit any salt called for in a recipe. For use in salad etc., where salt is not an ingredient, you can gently wash the fillets under cool running water, then pat dry. Any leftover should be stored in a tightly closed glass jar in fresh extra-virgin olive oil. Use within 10 days. You can utilize the flavored oil from the can in other dishes. There really is no viable less-salty substitute. You can just leave it out and use more herbs.

Use phyllo-like strips to make meat samosas

Phyllis Wright e-mailed this about the samosa recipe in this column a couple of fortnights ago: “Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I made it the other evening and my husband went crazy at how delicious they are. Also, I used your tip by using taco seasoning. Only concern was your tip didn’t include how much to use. I felt that logic could possibly work and counted the amounts of the exotic spices and added that amount of taco seasoning. It must have worked because, as I said, they were delicious. Thanks for both you and your wife Kaisari’s generosity.”

Thanks for sharing your experience. I, too, have observed the same reaction happening to men, and I include myself among them. One postscript about that column; the picture that appeared with it on The Palm Beach Post’s online version was of a very different kind of samosa and did not match the instructions in that article at all, as a couple of my friends pointed out.

Those sharply triangular delicacies generally enclose meat, which I could not serve to the rabbis. But these are probably even tastier and easier to make. So for posterity’s sake, here is a brief how-to to match those crispy tidbits in the online picture.

They are made with phyllo-like frozen samosa pastry strips, available in Indian groceries. I buy them from Apna Bazaar (561-967-7193 ) — a pack of 50 strips for 99 cents (Mazedar brand). Let the pastry thaw and following phyllo-dough handling method, ease off one sheet of long strip from the pack. Keep the rest under a damp towel.

Place a teaspoonful meat filling (potato/veggie filling can also be used) on one corner of the strip’s long end and bring the corner near you over the meat to form a tiny, puffy triangle, pressing ends gently to enclose. Wetting the edges may help. Fold this triangle over the dough toward the other end. Pick up the point of the triangle near you and fold it over the strip again.

Keep folding this way just as you would a U.S. Flag, until you end up with a neat little multilayered triangular samosa. Make as many as you want; return remaining dough to the freezer. Keep the filled samosas under a damp towel until you are ready to deep-fry. Deep-fry to a crisp, golden delight.

For the filling: Cook a pound of ground beef, preferably sirloin ground, in 2 tablespoons oil, 1 to 2 tablespoons chili powder or taco seasoning, 2 to 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until done, adding some water to prevent sticking. Tilt the pan and drain any excess fat. Cool the cooked beef and mix with half cup diced onion and quarter cup chopped mint and/or cilantro. Use for filling the samosas.

Gholam Rahman is a former staff writer for The Palm Beach Post. His column appears twice a month. Send your questions to him at gholam_rahman@pbpost.com or call (561) 820-4550 or (800) 432-7595, Ext. 4550.