Anchovy Butter Toast
This ode-to-the-anchovy toast-topper makes an excellent breakfast or hearty snack. I’ve made this several times, inspired by Sam Sifton’s Not a Recipe anchovy toast. Good butter and high-quality anchovies go a long way, but whatever you have in your pantry works. For the bones of this recipe, you’ll need anchovies, butter, and bread for toasting. Feel free to add anything else you think sounds good, like lemon juice or hot sauce for brightness. You can top your toast however you like. This time, I made one with sliced radishes and another with egg and chili flakes. You can make it in about 15 minutes in the morning (if you remember to set your butter out while making your first cup of coffee). Otherwise, the anchovy butter can be made the night before and stored in the fridge for an even easier, filling breakfast.
I want to take one moment to talk about butter. There’s a lot of good butter at France 44 and a lot of strong opinions about butter. If you’ve ever asked us about butter, someone has probably told you to get the gold foil wrapped Beurre de Baratte. For me, you can’t beat the Ploughgate Creamery Salted Cured Butter. Usually, I stay away from salted butter, but the Ploughgate Butter is the best butter I have ever had. Eat with a spoon good. If you are going for salted butter with this recipe, go for the Ploughgate which is not overwhelmingly salty. Otherwise, lean into unsalted butter. The anchovies have the salt covered.
Ingredients
The Butter:
2-3 Ortiz anchovies in olive oil
2 oz Ploughgate Butter or unsalted butter at room temperature
1 clove garlic, minced
Fresh lemon juice
The Toast:
Rose Street Patisserie Baguette (day or two old works great) or Baker’s Field Hundred Rye bread for a twist
Toppings:
6 ½ minute egg
Chili flakes
Sliced Radishes
To prepare the butter,
If topping with an egg, get a pot of water boiling on the stove.
Place your softened butter in a small bowl.
Mince anchovies. A smaller mince means they’ll blend more easily into the softened butter. But personally, I like a chunky anchovy moment. Add to butter.
Mince garlic. Feel free to use a dash of garlic powder (or no garlic at all) if raw garlic isn’t your scene. Add this to the butter as well.
Squeeze fresh lemon juice into the butter or add your hot sauce.
Using a fork, mix the anchovies, garlic, lemon juice, and butter together until well combined. This took me about a minute or two of steady mixing.
Always taste as you go to see what it needs. Acid? Black pepper? Probably not salt. Make any adjustments and set aside.
For the bread:
Slice your bread. For a baguette, I suggest a bias cut (with the knife at an angle instead of straight across). This way, you get larger pieces of toast.
Toast any way you like. I did a few minutes in the toaster, but the world is your oyster. Er, anchovy.
For the toppings:
Your water should be boiling by now. Once it is, prep a timer for six and a half minutes. Six and a half minutes will yield a jammy, runny yolk. If you like your yolk firmer, set for a minute longer.
Using a slotted spoon, gently lower your egg into the water and start the timer. Fill a bowl with ice water and place in the sink.
Wash your radishes. Slice thinly. Set aside.
When you six and half minute timer goes off, scoop your egg out of the water with the slotted spoon and gently place it in the ice bath. Let it hang out.
To assemble:
Place your toasted bread on a plate. Generously spread your anchovy butter on the toast.
For the radish toast, simply place the sliced radishes on the designated toast.
For the egg toast, you’ll need to crack and peel your egg. Remember, a six and a half minute egg is pretty soft so you’ll need to be gentle. I like to gently crack both short ends of the egg on a hard surface and then gently roll the egg with light pressure to crack the rest of the shell. The ice water should have shocked the egg enough that the egg will peel with minimal effort.
Once peeled, slice in quarters and assemble on top of toast
The eggs are messy, just the way they should be. The radishes provide a nice textural difference. The butter should be briney, rich, and full of umami and acid. The egg toast needed some heat so I added some dried chili flakes on top. Like most good recipes, this toast is flexible and should be adapted to your preferences. Have fun!
