Anchovy, caper and lemon butter

Anchovy, caper and lemon butter

Mix up a simple anchovy butter, flecked with capers and lemon zest, to add a flavour hit to white fish, pasta sauces or roast lamb.

Anchovy, caper and lemon butter

Try smoky chilli and lime butter drizzled over chicken or tacos.

  • Time icon Hands-on time 10 min

Mix up a simple anchovy butter, flecked with capers and lemon zest, to add a flavour hit to white fish, pasta sauces or roast lamb.

Try smoky chilli and lime butter drizzled over chicken or tacos.

Nutrition: Approx per 10g disc

Calories
74kcals
Fat
8.2g (5.2g saturated)
Protein
0.1g
Carbohydrates
0.1g (0.1g sugars)
Fibre
0g
Salt
0.2g

Ingredients

  • 250g block unsalted butter (room temperature)
  • 50g tin anchovy fillets
  • Pinch chilli flakes (optional)
  • 2 tbsp drained capers
  • Zest of 1 lemon
Sticky screen? No thanks! Tap to prevent your screen from going off while cooking.

Method

  1. Roughly dice the butter before you begin mixing it with the other ingredients to ensure an even distribution of the flavourings.
  2. Add a 50g tin anchovy fillets – including the oil they’re stored in – to a small frying pan over a medium heat, along with a pinch of chilli flakes (optional). Fry, stirring occasionally, until the anchovies break down and dissolve into the oil. Add 2 tbsp drained capers, cook for 1 more minute, then leave to cool. Tip the contents of the pan into the softened butter, finely grate in the zest of 1 lemon. To mix, you can either use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment to beat the butter and ingredients together (this gives a coarser finish, flecked with anchovy and caper pieces). Or pop everything in a food processor to whizz all the ingredients into a smooth butter,  or stir ingredients into the butter with a wooden spoon (make sure your butter is super-soft to save on elbow grease).
  3. Once your anchovy butter is evenly mixed and tastes the way you want it to, it’s ready to use. Or wrap and freeze it, ready to be used whenever a dish needs something extra. Shape the softened butter into a sausage on a sheet of cling film, then wrap it up tightly, securing both ends by twisting or tying a knot. Put it in the freezer, where it will keep for up to 3 months. Whenever you need an instant hit of flavoured buttery goodness, slice off a thick coin or two from frozen, depending on how much you need, then rewrap and return the log to the freezer. Let the coins thaw for 20 minutes at room temperature or put straight in a hot pan to melt and baste whatever you’re cooking.

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving
Calories
74kcals
Fat
8.2g (5.2g saturated)
Protein
0.1g
Carbohydrates
0.1g (0.1g sugars)
Fibre
0g
Salt
0.2g

delicious. tips

  1. Use it to… baste fish as it fries, stir into simmering chopped tomatoes for an instant puttanesca-style pasta sauce or rub all over a leg of lamb before it slow-cooks in the oven.

Buy ingredients online

Recipe By:

Tom Shingler
Head of food, delicious.

Subscribe

Fancy getting a copy in print?

Subscribe to our magazine

Rate & review

Rate

Reviews

Share a tip

Or, how about...?

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

15-minute meals

Chilli butter and crab pasta

Serve up a 15-minute meal that tastes like a restaurant...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Italian pastas

Pasta puttanesca

Looking for a classic Italian puttanesca? This recipe is quick,...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Recipes that make the most of butter

Smoky chilli and lime butter

This zesty, smoky chilli butter with hints of chipotle, garlic...

Save recipe icon Save recipe icon Save recipe

Recipes that make the most of butter

Seaweed and miso butter

Umami-rich seaweed butter with miso will elevate your cooking to...

Subscribe to our magazine

Food stories, skills and tested recipes, straight to your door... Enjoy 5 issues for just £5 with our special introductory offer.

Subscribe

Unleash your inner chef

Looking for inspiration? Receive the latest recipes with our newsletter

We treat your data with care. See our privacy policy. By signing up, you are agreeing to delicious.’ terms and conditions. Unsubscribe at any time.