Tinned fish is big business in Spain, with only the very best of what’s caught destined for the preserving and canning process. Buy the best you can get and you’ll need to do very little to them to create a wonderful canapé or starter for your next dinner party (they also make particularly bougie snacks).

Where to buy the best tinned fish

For the very best tinned fish from around the world, it’s hard to beat The Tinned Fish Market. They’ve got a stall at Borough Market in London and deliver nationwide online. Every tin is an artisanal, deeply delicious and special beauty of a thing. Mitch Tonks’ Rockfish also does a range of sustainable tinned fish, mostly from British waters; and Sea Sisters uses exclusively British tinned seafood with some exciting flavours – all canned in Dorset.

Four easy tinned seafood recipes for entertaining

Pan con tomate with sardines

Juicy summer tomatoes piled on garlicky grilled bread – this quick and easy Spanish dish is a classic for a reason and salty sardines add another level of moreish-ness. This recipe is all about great tomatoes: choose ripe ones for the best flavour. Cutting them horizontally makes grating easier – grate the cut side and you should get down to the skin without any issues (but do take care).

Serves 4 as a starter or 8 as a snack
Prep time 15 min
Cook time 2 min

• 400g large ripe tomatoes
• 200g rustic, wide and flat bread (like ciabatta), ideally a day old
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, halved
• 120g tin sardines in olive oil

1 Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally, then coarsely grate into a bowl, discarding the skin that doesn’t pass through. Season with a good pinch of salt.
2 Heat a cast iron griddle pan over a medium heat or the grill to medium. Halve the bread horizontally, then cut each piece into 4 slices. Put in the griddle pan or arrange on a baking tray, drizzled with the oil and griddle/grill for 1 minute or so on each side until golden.
3 Rub the cut sides of the garlic clove over the toast, spoon over the grated tomatoes, then divide the sardines among them. Serve straightaway.

Tuna, tinned artichoke and lemon canapés

Briny tinned artichokes are a tasty vehicle for tuna, flavoured with lemon and fennel seeds. Choose a top quality brand that provides good meaty pieces of fish for a tasty little tapa.

Makes about 12
Prep time 10 min
Cook time 1 min

• ¼ tsp fennel seeds
• Finely grated zest and juice ½ lemon
• 400g tin artichoke hearts (about 6), drained and halved
• 120g tin tuna in oil

1 Toast the fennel seeds in a dry frying pan for about a minute until aromatic, then stir in the lemon zest and a pinch of salt.
2 Arrange the artichoke heart halves on a serving platter, cut side up, season and squeeze over a little lemon juice. Add a few pieces of tuna to each, then scatter over the fennel seed mixture, squeeze over more lemon juice and crack over some black pepper. Drizzle with oil from the tuna tin.

Tinned anchovy canapés with apple and orange

This genius four-ingredient canapé combines crisp apple with rich and salty anchovies, herbal thyme and zesty orange. Surprisingly simple, surprisingly delicious – and it also happens to be gluten-free. Prepare the apple slices half an hour before and leave in a bowl of water and lemon juice to stop them going brown.

Serves 12
Prep time 10 min

• 1 large, sharp, green apple, such as granny smith
• 12 anchovy fillets in oil
• 2 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
• Finely grated zest ¼ orange

1 Quarter and core the apple. Cut into 12 flat slices (I trimmed one edge so it’s straight for visual appeal) and arrange on a platter. Place an anchovy on each slice and drizzle over a little of the oil from the tin. Sprinkle over the thyme and orange zest, then serve immediately.

Mussel escabeche dip

This flavour-bomb dipping oil features capers, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and pickled mussels: a simple starter that packs a real punch. The aniseed flavour of fresh fennel goes really well with the mussels, but any other crunchy veg work well too – try carrots, beetroot or even finely sliced green beans.

Serves 2-4
Prep time 10 min

• 120g tin pickled mussels or mussels escabeche (we used Pepus)
• 30g mixed pitted olives, sliced
• 20g sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
• 1 tsp capers, chopped
• 50g fennel, finely diced into 3mm cubes, plus any fronds reserved
• Oregano sprig, leaves picked
• 80ml oil – use the oil mixture from the mussels tin and top up with good quality Spanish olive oil
• 1 tsp sherry vinegar
• Crusty bread to serve

1 Add all the ingredients except the fennel fronds and sherry vinegar to a shallow serving dish and stir well to combine.
2 Splash over the sherry vinegar, then finish with the fennel fronds.
3 Serve with crusty bread for scooping and dipping.

Get more inspiration for a summer of entertaining with our tapas dishes and complete Spanish recipes collection.