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Anchovies on Toast
Cut out from a stale sandwich loaf of bread six pieces bread one-third of an inch thick, then trim them nicely and cut into one-and-one-half-inch squares. Toast to a good brown colour. Arrange two nice anchovies in oil, cut in half, on each toast. Hash very finely one hard-boiled egg, mix it well with two teaspoons chopped parsley and place it over the anchovies. If desired, finely chopped white onions can be served with the anchovies. Place on a dish with a folded napkin and serve.
A savoury of the sort served at the end of an Edwardian dinner or with drinks before it. Nothing here is difficult, but the proportions in the original are worth reading twice.
- The measurements don't quite add upSix pieces -- The original says to cut six pieces a third of an inch thick and trim them to one-and-a-half-inch squares, i.e. six finished croutes. How many slices of the loaf that takes depends on the loaf.
- Sandwich loafA close-crumbed white tin loaf, sliced thin and even. Slightly stale bread is specified for a reason: it toasts crisp without going leathery and holds the oily anchovy without collapsing.
- Anchovies in oilTwo fillets per croute, halved, so four short lengths laid on each. Tinned fillets vary a good deal in saltiness; blot them on paper and taste before adding any further salt to the egg.
- Hard-boiled eggOne egg finely hashed will just cover six small croutes. Chop it fine rather than mashing it, or it turns to paste and loses the contrast with the crisp toast.
- Assemble at the last minuteThis is the hinge. Toast, anchovy and egg must meet within a few minutes of serving; the oil and the moisture from the egg soften the bread quickly and the whole point of the dish is the snap.
- The onionChopped white onion is optional in the original and is best served alongside in a small dish rather than piled on, so it does not overwhelm the anchovy.
- Folded napkinA period presentation for toasted and fried items served dry. A paper-lined plate does the same job.
- YieldSix croutes serves two to three as a savoury or six as one bite each with sherry or cocktails.
Anchovy savouries belong to a distinctly British course, the savoury, which came after the sweet at a formal dinner and was meant to close the palate on something salt rather than sugary — anchovy toast, devilled sardines, cheese ramekins, mushrooms on toast. Anchovies suited the role because they arrived ready-preserved in salt or oil from the Mediterranean and needed no cooking, and by the late nineteenth century anchovy paste and anchovy essence were staples of the English larder. The dish is the kind of small, quickly assembled savoury that a cook would want to hand at short notice, finished with a garnish of sieved or hashed hard-boiled egg and parsley.