“How could anything so simple be so good?” Russell Norman’s recipe for anchovies and butter
The man behind the brilliant new Brutto Trattoria butters our anchovies
Words: Russell
Photography: Paul Winch-Furness
Several years ago I was in Florence with a small group of chefs, restaurateurs and food writers. We were exploring the city’s historic trattorias, visiting the Central Market, sampling tripe and enjoying what the region’s classic cooking had to offer. It was around this time that the idea for my new London restaurant Trattoria Brutto came to me: a simple place serving Florentine dishes with uncompromising authenticity and honesty. My notebooks got fuller, more detailed and more annotated as the trip went on. It was a joyful voyage of discovery in the most famous Tuscan town and I was collecting as many ideas and recipes as I could.
One morning at the hotel in the Oltrarno district of Florence, directly south of the River Arno, I bumped into the veteran food writer Bill Knott in the breakfast room. He seemed particularly excited about the scheduled trip to the market but even more animated when he started to tell me about his favourite wine bar in the world, Casa del Vino, just in front of the market. Did I want to join him? He didn’t need to ask me twice.
We made short work of the 20 minute walk across the historic centre, barely pausing to take in the beauty of Ponte Vecchio and the Duomo, and Bill’s pace quickened as we approached the tiny, ancient bar, all wood-panelling and Carrara marble. The proprietor welcomed us with a glass of natural prosecco ‘col fondo’ — left on the lees, cloudy and more foamy than fizzy. After a chat about local wines he lined up a few glasses for us to try and then started to prepare some snacks at the counter. He cut a couple of slices from a sourdough loaf, toasted them, allowed them to cool, and then opened a huge tin of Sicilian anchovies. He removed some butter from the fridge and used a potato peeler to shave thick, cold slivers, and lay them onto the sourdough. Then he placed several anchovies onto the butter.
As I bit into the plump, oily anchovies and through the cold butter onto the toast, I started to laugh. How could anything so simple be so good? It was a perfect flavour combination; a marriage made in culinary heaven. I think Bill and I stopped talking for a good few minutes while we savoured the sensation and taste of those peerless little crostini.
We came across them several times over the coming days in different iterations, once at Alla Vecchia Bettola with curls of butter, and again at Trattoria Sabatino. I knew they had to go onto the menu at Brutto, and I’m pleased to say we serve many, many dozens of plates of them every day.
PREPARATION: For one, as a snack
1 slice sourdough, about 2cm thick
4 slices cold butter, straight from fridge
(or curls, if you’re feeling fancy)
8 excellent anchovies: Cantabrian are the best
Toast the sourdough and allow it to cool. Using a potato peeler, shave off 4 generous slices of cold butter. You could try making curls instead by pulling an old-school jelly spoon across the top of the butter block. Lay the cold butter onto the cold toast and then arrange the anchovies evenly onto the butter. Alternatively, lay the anchovies on a plate with the butter curls scattered and the toasted sourdough on the side. It’s fun to assemble each bite as you go.
Trattoria Brutto, 35-37 Greenhill Rents, London EC1M 6BN
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