TIN IS IN

FORGET CHARCUTERIE, CHEESE, AND BUTTER BOARDS THE TINNED FISH BOARD IS THE TASTIEST, TRENDIEST WAY TO ENTERTAIN

- KRISTA SIMMONS 

Tinned fish is being popped open everywhere these days, from the chef’s counter at fine dining restaurants to #tin-fluencers on TikTok’s FYP. While it might seem like a new thing in the U.S., happy-hour gatherings in Spain have long included delicious tinned fish, which was originally a wartime food created to sustain the French military in the 1700s. In my travels to Spain, Portugal, and the Azores over the years, I’ve collected brightly colored latas de conservas to share with friends stateside, initiating them into a portable delicacy that’s often at first shrugged off by skeptics.

In my experience, the best way to be introduced to the wide world of conservas (as they are referred to the Mediterranean) is by building what I like to call a seacuterie board—a beautiful, bountiful spread loaded with all the fixins that makes for the perfect Instagrammable holiday moment. The seacuterie board is truly the quickest, easiest, and most delicious way to entertain. And the best part is you don’t have to have a lick of culinary prowess to do it.