Green Anchovy Butter

Green Anchovy Butter
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell.
Total Time
10 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes
Rating
4(152)
Notes
Read community notes

Straight out of the tin, anchovies can be assertive, but their umami flavor can be judiciously harnessed, adding depth to Caesar salad dressing, pasta puttanesca and other recipes. Affordable and accessible, jarred or canned anchovies can be a great introduction to tinned fish. This butter, from Anna Hezel’s cookbook, “Tin to Table: Fancy, Snacky Recipes for the Tin-thusiasts and A-fish-ionados” (Chronicle Books, 2023), makes good use of anchovy’s salty notes, taming it with fresh herbs and lemon to create a bright green spread that has many uses: Baste it over a seared steak, toss it with pasta or roasted vegetables, melt it and toss with fresh popcorn, or cook an egg in it. Anchovies can provide a salty, funky undercurrent or a whack of flavor; they may be diminutive but their presence is substantial. —Christina Morales

Featured in: For Tinned Fish Obsessives, ‘Affordable Luxury’ Comes in a Can

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Ingredients

Yield:⅔ cup
  • ½cup/113 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
  • 5anchovy fillets in olive oil
  • ½(packed) cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • ½lemon, finely zested, plus 1 teaspoon juice
  • 1garlic clove, minced
  • ¼teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

220 calories; 23 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 191 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a blender or mini food processor, combine all the ingredients and whir until the parsley and anchovies appear to be evenly distributed throughout the butter, scraping down the sides as needed. (Alternately, you can chop the parsley very finely, mash together the garlic and chopped anchovies until a paste forms, then stir all the butter ingredients together until combined. You won’t get such bright green results, but it will still taste delicious.) Taste, and season with more pepper if desired. Store, refrigerated, in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days.

Ratings

4 out of 5
152 user ratings
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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Sounds great. I went to the fast assemble version. Layer tartine as follows. Rub raw garlic on the toast. Butter the toast. Lay several fillets on top of butter. Grind a bit o pepper. Cilantro/parsley chopped coarse Halve a tomato and squeeze out a juicy tomato over greens.FUN!! (Eat skin and hard pulp on the side). Squeeze of lemon. Drizzle Evoo Sprinkle Maldon salt Bottle of Viogner is nice with this Umami goodness

YUM!!!YUM YUM!! When I taste tested this I immediately began to brainstorm. “How can I incorporate this delicious buttery goodness into sauces, slather on a grilled steak, etc etc

I whipped this together in a bowl with a tined fork (and a bit of elbow grease), avoiding the mess left over in a blender or food processor.

We were in Tokyo this summer and went to a restaurant where the chef cooked in front of us (he made a lot of Okinawa style okonomiyaki) One of his other specialties was a mozzarella cheese sandwich on milk bread grilled in anchovy butter. It was sublime and this version of anchovy butter would be fabulous.

To Michael from Maryland… don’t add the whole half of lemon. Recipe tells you to take half a lemon..,. Zest it into the other ingredients… then squeeze in one teaspoon of lemon juice. Set aside remaining lemon for other use or discard.

I’m thinking I might make a batch and freeze it in smaller portions. Butter freezes perfectly but I am wondering about the anchovies within the mixture. Any thoughts on this?

Anchovy paste might make it easy to blend with the remaining ingredients. Figure 1/2 Tsp. paste is the equivalent of 1 anchovy fillet.

Easy to prep in a bowl without dirtying food processor. Went heavy on the anchovies. Not surprisingly it was even better the day after, when flavors had blended. I can imagine many uses.

I used end of season fresh basil which gave the anchovies sweetness. I'd reduce the amount of butter in the future. Delicious with roasted potatoes.

Ess. It does freeze wonderfully!

Ess. It freezes perfectly well!!!!

I made this using curly parsley instead of flat-leaf (limited options at my market that day) and loved it. It's delicious on crusty, toasted bread, obviously. But I think I'm going to try it on pasta. I can also imagine it would be fantastic on chicken. Wonderful combination of flavors.

I love this soooo much!!! This a forever recipe in my family now!

My new favorite savory spread on thin sourdough toast - such a sharp and salty buttery treat

Because butter is not allowed for me, I might try combining these ingredients with white beans. Any tips are welcomed.

I used end of season fresh basil which gave the anchovies sweetness. I'd reduce the amount of butter in the future. Delicious with roasted potatoes.

Fabulous. Worth cleaning the blender.

Smoked mackerel pate (smoked mackerel, butter and lemon juice) freezes perfectly, so I'm sure this would, too.

Easy to prep in a bowl without dirtying food processor. Went heavy on the anchovies. Not surprisingly it was even better the day after, when flavors had blended. I can imagine many uses.

Double or triple the quantity of anchovies to give the recipe more punch...

Anchovy paste might make it easy to blend with the remaining ingredients. Figure 1/2 Tsp. paste is the equivalent of 1 anchovy fillet.

Made it and loved it! I cant wait to slather on steak & crsty bread.

To Michael from Maryland… don’t add the whole half of lemon. Recipe tells you to take half a lemon..,. Zest it into the other ingredients… then squeeze in one teaspoon of lemon juice. Set aside remaining lemon for other use or discard.

Could I sub anchovy paste for the fillets?

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Credits

Recipe from “Tin to Table: Fancy, Snacky Recipes for Tin-thusiasts and A-fish-ionados” by Anna Hezel (Chronicle Books, 2023)

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