Start your meal with this nice plate: Anchovy elixir
How to Make Anchovy elixir
Preparation time:
less than 30 mins
Cooking time:
less than 10 mins
Serves:
Makes approx. 350ml/12fl oz
Ingredients
- 100g/3½oz salt-packed anchovies
- 3 fat garlic
- 2½ tbsp lemon juice
- 175ml/6fl oz extra virgin olive oil
- 125ml/4fl oz cold water
To serve (optional)
- a few heads of red chicory
- radishes or other raw vegetables of your choice
- 1 rump steak
- finely chopped fresh chives
Method
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It might be wisest to follow the preparation instructions on your packet of anchovies, but what I do is soak them in a dish of cold water for 5 minutes, then throw the water out, fill up again, and leave to soak for a further 5 minutes. Then rinse each anchovy under the cold tap, tearing away and discarding the tails. If you want to remove the bones, too, be my guest; you will thereby gain huge respect for those who fillet anchovies for a living.
-
If using a bullet or other high-speed blender, put the drained anchovies, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and the water into the blender and blitz until you have a smooth sauce.
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If using a stick blender, put the anchovies into a bowl with the garlic and lemon juice and blitz to a paste. Still blitzing, gradually pour in a third of the oil, and when that’s absorbed, a third of the water, and carry on in this vein until both are used up.
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Decant into individual dipping bowls and arrange your chicory leaves or raw vegetables around it.
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Alternatively, fry your steak in a cast-iron frying pan over a high heat for 3 minutes on each side. Rest in kitchen foil for 5 minutes. Slice the steak thinly against the grain, transfer to a plate, dribble the elixir over it and scatter a few finely chopped chives on top. Dollop more sauce on your plate as you eat.
