Jansson's Temptation Without Ansjovis

Our answer

Nigella's recipe for Jansson's Temptation (from COOK, EAT, REPEAT) is made with ansjovis. Ansjovis are different to the canned anchovies in oil, instead they are sprats that are canned in a slightly sweet brine. If you can't find the ansjovis then you could use pickled herring (rollmops) or maatjes herring as possible substitutes. As these are larger fish you will need to cut them into smaller pieces first.

The fish could be omitted and you could stir 3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan into the cream and milk mixture, though then it becomes a very good potato gratin rather than a Jansson's Temptation. The potatoes are cut into thin chip (French fry) shapes as this is the traditional cut for the potatoes in a Jansson's Temptation. We would not recommend using store-bought chips as the chips are usually pre-cooked and then coated in extra oil and sometimes also in rice flour and dextrose. This means that they will cook very differently to freshly-cut potatoes and will make a significant difference to the recipe.