This is a no-recipe recipe, a recipe without an ingredients list or steps. It invites you to improvise in the kitchen.
If you’re up for a delicious, slightly sporty breakfast, you might consider making some anchovy butter tonight. Take a stick of unsalted butter, and let it soften on the counter while you assemble the other ingredients: a tin of anchovies, some garlic cloves, a shake or two of smoked or regular paprika, a wee splash of lemon juice and maybe, but probably not, some salt. Rinse and mince the little fish, mince the garlic, and fork everything together into the butter to taste.
Then, come morning, you can slather toast with the result and serve it with soft scrambled eggs or, better yet, soft-boiled eggs, a breakfast I once had in London at a hotel and restaurant the chef Fergus Henderson was running in Leicester Square. Make sure you spread the butter “wall to wall.” That is a vernacular phrase of the chef Gabrielle Hamilton. It means to cover the entire surface of the bread from edge to edge — an important step in buttering, one that is too often shirked.
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And the first bite of the evening is always a tiny slice of toast, smeared with really good butter and topped with a glossy, oil-packed anchovy. It is the perfect bite: crunchy, salty, and rich—a tiny delight to usher you into an evening full of them.
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How is this delicious NOT a recipe (just in paragraph format)? Ingredients: 1 stick of butter 1 tin of anchovies Etc. Method: 1. Let the butter soften on the counter while you assemble the other ingredients: a tin of anchovies, some garlic cloves, a shake or two of smoked or regular paprika, a wee splash of lemon juice, and… 2. Rinse and mince the little fish, mince the garlic, and fork everything together into the butter to taste. 3. Then slather toast with the result and serve it with…
How long can you store the anchovy butter?
This rocks: made it this morning. But, anchovy butter needs nothing more than finely-minced anchovies (I use oil-packed, and I didnt rinse them) and butter. Lemon juice, garlic, etc are distractions. You could gussy this up with capers, etc, but its fine without garnishes. Maybe a little black pepper …
Amazing! The mix of crispy, salty, beady, fatty goodness with umami makes for quite a meal. I adjusted the anchovy butter recipe because my fillets would not puree. I sauted them in olive oil with a few cloves of garlic and some red pepper flakes. I added the lemon juice, chilled the mixture, then blended it with the butter. Yum!
Stupid good. I realized I had both a tin and a tube of paste and since this requires rinsing and mashing up the fish — I grabbed the tube. I used old (close to too old) no knead bread and 3 (old) garlic cloves, grated on a zest-er. Im not good at eggs so I steamed. I did not wait. Dang! Only one egg, and one piece of bread is needed. Stupid good.
My go-to Thanksgiving brunch. Not filling enough to ruin dinner. Im not sure why this isnt in proper recipe form: 1 stick butter, softened 1 tin anchovies 2 garlic cloves 1/4 tsp smoked paprika salt, as needed Good quality bread, toasted Poached egg Blend or smash together or use your grubby fingers to do the work. Spread over good quality toasted bread and serve with a poached egg.
As a non-American that is not butter-obsessed, I used olive oil instead and made more-or-less a chunky paste. Scrumptious!
This anchovy butter is truly greater than the sum of its parts. I can eat it on ANYTHING.
I used the drained anchovy oil to cook my eggs over easy for an added bang.
My household consists of me. This is a great recipe because you can shape the butter into a log about an inch wide; slice it into quarter-inches; and freeze those slices (wrapped in parchment or waxed paper). All you have to do is remove one slice from the freezer while you prepare the egg and toast. By the time the egg and toast are done, the slice has softened enough to be spreadable. No bacon or ham or sausage (or scrapple, Im Pennsylvanian) necessary; this delivers plenty of umami.
Ok ok hear me out. Smear the anchovy butter on good bread and then pan fry… insane.
Anchovy paste is the bottom of the barrel, really. Get good anchovies in a bottle. Please
Ive been enjoying a similar yet also delicious recipe since I was a kid. Its just the butter and the anchovies on toast with scrambled eggs. We dont rinse off the anchovies and throw them in with the tins oil. Here, I didnt like the addition of the lemon juice or paprika but the garlic was a nice touch. But thats just my own personal preference.
OK, made it today, this is an awesome dish. My daughter hates anchovies and also loved it. I used ciabatta bread (got at Sams Club) and broiled/toasted it for about 1.5 minutes on high. Perfect dish, thanks so much!!! Tomatoes on the side were yummy with this.
I added capers as someone suggested…yum!
I love this flavor combo. If you want an easy way to cheat I use anchovy past and a micro plane for the garlic and just mix like crazy. Sometimes I don’t even bother with the egg because it’s so good on simple toast.
For non-Americans, a “stick of butter” is 113 grams.
Used chia seed bread lightly toasted, spread to the very edges with my own Crème dAnchois. Dusted lightly with smoked paprika (pimenton) and scattered with chopped cornichons. Very tasty.
Added avocado. Melted the butter and wisked the anchovies & garlic then let that set back to slurry state while prepping eggs and avo.. chopped some arugula for bitter and color on top. Love all of Sam’s not-recipes-recipes for the license it moves us to exercise…
Adding a touch of dijon mustard to the butter takes it to the next level
Phenomenal butter. Truly dangerous how good it is. My husband is literally angry I told him to try it early because its so delicious he wants to just make it his entire lunch, rather than using it for breakfast tomorrow as planned. If you like umami, anchovy, and rich, acidic, savory in general, try this.
I started to make this when I realized I didn’t have anchovies. Was super sad but mixed up the butter with some lemon, salt, garlic, and paprika anyway. I’ve been really into soft-boiled eggs now that I’ve nailed down the right method for me (shout-out Budget Bytes) and was happy to mash those little beauties onto the butter-slathered toast. It was ridiculously good. Looking forward to my next attempt with anchovies. I bet it will be even better.
In the UK, this is a version of what is called “Gentlemans Relish.”
I used a molcajete to blend the ingredients together which worked nicely for getting the garlic and anchovies really squished in with the butter. This is magic in the mouth. I had it with an easy sunny side up egg. Toast in the oven for a round two sans egg. Just so delectable.
Was initially grossed out by the idea, but once I gave it a shot I was pleasantly surprised. I dont know if it needs the added salt but it didnt hurt. Overall it was easy to put together and tasted delicious.
Why would I rinse anchovies? I’ve never done this.
I just had this for lunch. And yum! I made the compound butter the night before. Had a tin of Wild Planet anchovies which looked more like sardines. No matter, I followed the suggestions, put the contents into a glass jar in the fridge overnight. The next day, I put the butter into the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up. I was just going to slather on one piece of toast and top with one fried egg, but it was so good, I caved in and had seconds. Easy peezy!
SO Yummy!! I followed the recipe and soft boiled the perfect jammy eggs. I happened to have crispy pancetta in the frig so I sprinkled that over the anchovy toast split the egg & layed that on top then fresh chopped parsley from my garden. Cant wait to make it again
I didn’t want to take the time to make anchovy butter, so I warmed the anchovies and their oil in a saucepan until they disintegrated, and used that to dress some arugula. I put the arugula on top of my buttered toast, and soft boiled eggs on top of that. Delicious!Private notes are only visible to you.
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Anchovy Crostini – Massimo Capra
FAQ
What is the best way to eat anchovies?
What goes well with anchovies?
Can I eat anchovies straight from the tin?
Are canned anchovies good for you?
Should you eat anchovy toast?
In short, anchovy toast is both the antidote to your anchovy aversion and the reason to get over your aversion in the first place. Then crunch the numbers. 1. It’s the Easiest snack Ever In the past, we’ve advocated tinned fish as a dinner party savior for its convenience and versatility. Anchovy toast applies this theory to snack time.
How do you eat anchovies?
Mash the anchovies with Manchego cheese, parsley, and garlic, then spread the paste on toasted bread. Or top your anchovy toast with jarred piquillo peppers and olive tapenade. 2. It’s a snack that’s Sustainable, Cheap, andMagic
What is the best salad to eat with anchovies?
There is, of course, the classic Caesar salad, as well as this crisp Roman puntarelle salad. Other bitter chicory salads, like this a combination of radicchio and endive, also benefit from the intense brininess of anchovies.
What to eat with anchovies & radicchio?
Other bitter chicory salads, like this a combination of radicchio and endive, also benefit from the intense brininess of anchovies. Anchovy dressing does equally well with vegetal-sweet green beans mixed with pine nuts and pickled peppers, or a wintery green salad with walnuts, apples, and parmesan .