Anchovy and sardine butter

We now deal with sardines every day and with great pleasure. Maybe you already?
As an uncomplicated and changeable everyday delicacy, we appreciate these little silver miracles very much. Although they also shine as purists, there is still so much you can do with them! We have already tried some recipes and presented them here.
But what about the little sister of the sardine, the anchovy? Can our imagination go beyond a self-made anchovy pizza? Mais bien sur! So let's go - according to the motto "Butter with the fish"!

To keep things simple, I've picked a recipe that takes no time at all and doesn't even need a lot of ingredients: Homemade Anchovy Butter.

Out of interest in sardines and driven by curiosity about the taste, I decided to put a sardine butter next to it. Let's see what tastes better!
Or should one compare sardines and anchovies just as little as apples and pears?! ...

Number 1: the anchovy butter

Ingredients:

• 1 small can of anchovies (approx. 50g)
• 150g soft salted raw milk butter
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• parsley, chopped
• 1 pinch of allspice d'Espelette

• 1 can of boneless sardines in olive oil with lemon, eg from La Belle-Iloise
• 100g salted raw milk butter
• 2 pinches seaweed leaves

Let the butter soften at room temperature. Meanwhile, drain and mash the sardines with a fork, then knead the mashed sardines, seaweed sheets and softened butter with a fork until all the ingredients are well combined.
Put the finished butter in a bowl and chill in the fridge.

The conclusion:

Both butter variants taste excellent and very different and the salted raw milk butter brings out the characteristic taste of both fish, which are very strong in character:

The anchovy butter has a very smooth and creamy consistency due to the pureeing and is easy to spread. Their taste is intense: richly salty, pleasantly fishy and slightly spicy thanks to the Piment d'Espelette. The parsley and shallot balance the aromatic anchovy nicely and add a fruity touch to the recipe.

Crushing with a fork also gives the sardine butter a very pleasant, finely fibrous structure reminiscent of rillettes. The candied lemon gives the recipe a pleasant freshness that is extremely interesting in terms of taste. The recipe clearly impresses with its simplicity and focus on the fish. Additional ingredients like parsley or onions would only have diluted the taste.

We recommend enjoying the sardine and anchovy butter with crackers or on toast, or with warm potatoes and a green salad. In any case, it should be a simple meal in which the fish butter is allowed to play the leading role.

This goes well with a full-bodied but not too heavy red wine, such as the Brouilly 2015 Georges Descombes . The bouquet is delicate and pure with aromas of plum and raspberry complemented by flint notes. The special freshness and fruit enchant you instantly! In the mouth, juicy aromas of ripe fruit unfold.

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The anchovy butter recipe is by Barbara-jo McIntosh and the sardine butter recipe is by Sonia Ezgulan. I modified both slightly according to my own discretion and taste. You can vary the butter-to-fish ratio in particular, and you don't have to use lemon with the sardines either. Try out what you like and share your favorite variations with us. Write us an email !