I probably picked the easiest recipe in it - and wow, was it easy. I expected mixed reviews from my family, and I got them, but I was surprised that I actually like anchovy toast. It's quite the staple in Betty Neels' stories (it's in The Moon for Lavinia, for example). I get it now. I can see it being comfort food, especially if you grew up on it. It's quick and simple to make - just keep some in the refrigerator for the next time your RDD needs a midnight snack after spending the evening doing a spot of emergency surgery or gets in late from a trip to Brussels. Anchovy Toast
2 oz. can anchovy fillets in olive oil, well drained (I patted them with a paper towel after draining)
6 oz. soft butter (original recipe calls for unsalted...I used what I had, which was not)
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley (again, fresh if you've got it...I didn't, so I used dry)
generous squeeze lemon juice
ground black pepper
4-6 slices of bread
Crush the anchovies to make a thick paste, add the butter, parsley and lemon juice. Mix well, season to taste with black pepper. (I skipped a step and just threw it all in my Braun mini food processor, 'cause that's how I roll). Cover and chill until required.To serve, toast the bread, trim off crusts, spread anchovy butter, then cut into fingers and serve immediately.
Verdict: While not something I'd like every day, I could see making this occasionally...I might even buy a couple of tins of anchovies to have on hand in my pantry, especially for my 19 year old son. He loves anything salty, and this was definitely salty. My fifteen year old son wasn't nearly as fond of it...he tried one bite and said he'd stick to salmon. Dr. van der Stevejinck is generally not a fan of anchovies - he grudgingly said that this was 'as good as anchovies could be.'
Let me know if you're ever daring enough to give anchovy butter as a Visiting Teaching gift, will you?
ReplyDeleteThere used to be a restaurant here that did a broth fondue that had a bit of anchovy paste in it. Added a nice bit of saltiness. I picked up some to try in a recipe, but now I can't remember what the recipe was. Doh.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're here to try these things out for us unbelievers.
ReplyDeleteHi! This blog is amazing. I was just reading Never While The Grass Grows was researching about anchovy toast which to an American is so over the pond. And I stumbled on your totes adorbs site! kindred spirits. Seriously, isn't Betty Neels the aristocrat of vintage Mills & Boon? I can't think of any author approaching her level of class, not even dear Mary Burchell. And no other author pulls me into a completely different world the way BN does: the food, the clothes & scent brands, the cars, the places, above all the manners of a time that now seems like the dying gasp of Victorianism, to my sorrow! Oh, it's so wonderful to read how BN's flame is kept alive. BTW, all recipes I've checked online are available except a dessert Fraises a L'Imperatrice so if you come across one, won't you share it? Thanks for your wonderful blog. I'll be returning and maybe become a member.
ReplyDeleteFraises a L'Imperatrice – recipe. Found two sets of instructions on google.fr.
Deletefraises à l'impératrice
Préparer une coupe de riz à l'impératrice en remplissant au 3/4 une coupe en verre de 20cm de diamètre ; faire prendre sur glace. Au moment de servir, ranger sur le riz 250g. de grosses fraises sucrées au sucre vanillé.
http://franckboyer.blog.lemonde.fr/2004/05/26/les-fraises/
Fill a 20 cm/8 inch glass bowl with riz à l’impératrice / Empress Rice Pudding. Refrigerate. (Actually, it says let set on ice.) Just before serving, arrange 250g/9 oz large strawberries, sweetened with vanilla sugar, on top of the rice.
Fraises à l'impératrice
Garnir le fond d’une coupe d’un riz à l’impératrice, en supprimant la gélatine.
Recouvrir de crème Chantilly montée en dôme et décorée à la poche munie d’une douille cannelée.
Disposer autour une bordure de grosses fraises, nappées de gelée de groseilles.
Servir très frais.
http://musee-fraise.net/pages/recettesanciennemod/recette83.html
Fill the bottom of a bowl with riz à l’impératrice / Empress Rice Pudding, omitting the gelatin. Cover with a mount of whipped cream and garnish using a pastry bag with a star tip. Add a border of large strawberries, glazed with red-currant jelly.
Serve very fresh. (Almost toot sweet.)
Riz à l'impératrice
Deletehttp://cuisine.larousse.fr/recettes/detail/riz-a-l-imperatrice
• 125 g de fruits confits en dés / 4½ oz candied fruit, diced
• 50 ml de rhum / 3 tbsp+1 tsp rum
• 1 l de lait / 4 cups milk
• 1 gousse de vanille / vanilla pod
• 1 pincée de sel / pinch of salt
• 250 g de riz rond / 9 oz pudding rice/short grain rice
• 25 g de beurre / 1 oz butter
• 150 g de sucre en poudre / 5 oz powdered sugar
• 500 g de crème anglaise / 1 lb 2 oz custard sauce
• 1 feuille de gélatine / gelatin sheet
• 1 cuill. à soupe de rhum / tbsp rum
• 250 g de chantilly / 9 oz whipping cream
• 1 sachet de sucre vanillé / vanilla sugar
• 3 cerises confites / candied cherries
1. Mettez les fruits confits coupés en dés à macérer dans le rhum. Soak the diced candied fruit in the rum (50 ml).
2. Chauffez le lait avec la gousse de vanille, le sel et le beurre. Heat the milk with the vanilla pod, salt and butter.
3. Faites bouillir 1 litre d'eau. Versez le riz en pluie dans l'eau bouillante, laissez-le cuire 2 minutes, puis égouttez-le et reversez-le dans le lait bouillant. Baissez le feu et cuisez pendant 20 minutes environ, doucement, jusqu'à ce que le riz s'écrase. Bring 1 l / 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the rice to the boiling water, cook for 2 minutes, drain, then add the rice to the boiling milk. Turn down the heat and cook, gently, for about 20 minutes, until the rice is soft.
4. Mettez alors le sucre et faites cuire encore 5 minutes. Ajoutez et mélangez bien les fruits confits et le rhum de macération en retirant le riz du feu. Puis laissez celui-ci refroidir. Add the sugar and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the rice from the stove, add the soaked candied fruit and the rum and mix well. Let cool.
5. Mettez la gélatine à tremper dans un peu d'eau froide. Préparez la crème anglaise et, en fin de cuisson, ajoutez la gélatine essorée et le rhum. Passez la crème au tamis fin et laissez-la refroidir. Let the gelatin soak in a little cold water. Prepare the custard sauce and when it is cooked add the softened gelatin and the rum. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve and let cool.
6. Préparez la chantilly avec le sucre vanillé. Whip the cream with the vanilla sugar.
7. Quand le riz et la crème anglaise sont froids, mélangez-les bien. Puis ajoutez la chantilly en tournant doucement. Versez le tout dans un moule à savarin de 22 cm de diamètre et mettez au réfrigérateur pendant 3 ou 4 heures. When the rice and the custard sauce are cooled, stir them together mixing well. Then add the whipped cream and fold in carefully. Pour the mixture into a 22 cm ring mold and refrigerate for 3 or 4 hours.
8. Pour démouler, trempez le moule quelques secondes dans un plat rempli d'eau bouillante et retournez-le sur le plat de service. Décorez avec les cerises confites coupées en deux. To unmold, set the mold into a plate filled with boiling water for a few seconds and turn to unmold onto the serving plate.
Ha ha! You said "almost toot sweet", misspelling of "too sweet", or oh so clever pun on "tout de suite" ? Are you toying with us? Was this a test?
DeleteBetty von Susie
Clever little B v S. It's "tout de suite" in English spelling (which expression I purloined from Betty Keira, methinks) and I was hoping you would think of "too sweet".
DeleteThe misspelling occurred two lines above. I had written "mount the whipped into a dome..." or something like that and then meant to change that to "cover with a mound of whipped cream".
My Thanksgiving rule of thumb is if you can still see the dessert there is not enough whipped cream on it.
DeleteB von S
Wow, that was fast. Do you ladies know how wonderful you are? Thank you! Just in time for my grocery shopping tomorrow. There's something sane in messing about the kitchen. And downing calories while reading about a 'splendid figure' of a heroine. Today has been a sad day for us all. Your kind recipe-sharing lightens it up a bit. So thanks and as the Professor says 'Tot ziens!'.
DeleteThat is the PERFECT phrase to describe eccentric British food and/or behavior! "Oh that is so over the pond", I love it!
ReplyDeleteWelcome Anonymous!
Betty von Susie
I've not read about "anchovy toast" being eaten for tea in Betty Neel's books, although I'm of course not disputing that it's there. I have recently started re-reading her books and noted that in one recently they ate fingers of toast spread with Gentleman's Relish. This is a ready-prepared spread available in the UK and is made with anchovies.
ReplyDeleteIs this available in the USA? I collect old recipe books and have rather a collection. If there's a British/English recipe you require and can't find it I'd be happy to search my collection :-)
Here is anchovy toast for tea in Betty Neels. For those interested, here is Gentleman's Relish.
Delete