Anchovy Butter

If using salt-packed anchovies, separate the fillets under cold running water, brushing away the salt with your fingers and removing the central spine. Pat thoroughly dry. On a dry cutting board, finely mince the anchovy fillets until they form a near-paste — you want no large pieces, as chunks in the finished butter will taste overwhelming rather than integrated. Use the flat of the knife to smear the mince against the board in long strokes, dragging the paste to create a completely smooth, homogeneous puree.

Beat the room-temperature butter in a bowl with a wooden spoon or in a stand mixer until it is pale, fluffy, and spreadable. Add the anchovy paste, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, shallot, and pepper. Beat vigorously until all the ingredients are completely and evenly incorporated — no visible streaks of anchovy or parsley clumps remaining. The butter should be a uniform, pale olive-green flecked with darker parsley and smell intoxicating: buttery, briny, herbal, and citrus-bright.

Lay a sheet of cling film or parchment on a clean surface. Spoon the compound butter in a rough log shape along the lower third of the film. Fold the film over the butter and use the edge of a bench scraper or ruler to compact and roll it into a smooth, even cylinder about 3 cm in diameter. Twist the ends tightly. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour until firm, or freeze for longer storage. The log shape allows you to cut precise coins of butter to serve.

To serve, slice the log into 1 cm coins directly from the refrigerator and place one or two over freshly grilled or seared meat, fish, or vegetables. The residual heat of the food melts the butter in a slow, glossy pool, drawing out the anchovy-lemon-herb fragrance in a cloud of steam. Anchovy butter keeps, wrapped, for 1 week in the refrigerator or 2 months in the freezer. Slice coins from frozen and return unused portions to the freezer.