Chef Juliette
Butters and Creams
Beurres et crèmes d’hors-d’œuvre prove that cold-table finesse is mostly timing: smooth good dairy, cover it closely, hold it cool, then season only as you dish so every spoonful keeps a clean edge.
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Anchovy Fillets
Created by Chef Juliette
Filets d’Anchois turn a jar of oil-cured fish into a proper cold hors-d’œuvre: slender fillets crossed in a lattice, bright capers, parsley, and alternating gold and white egg.
Appetizers & Snacks
French
Dinner Party
Picnic
Make Ahead
25 min
Active Time
10 min cook•45 min total
Yield4 appetizer servings
Filets d’Anchois (anchovy fillets) teach the discipline of the cold table: salt, oil, colour, and exact arrangement can make a proper first course without heat. Before you touch a pan, know this: the lattice is the dish. It gives every serving anchovy, egg, parsley, caper, and just enough oil in one sharp, handsome bite.
The original assumed a garde-manger station, not a saucier: anchovy halves already softened in oil, eggs cooked and separated, parsley chopped, and a shelf of hors-d’œuvre dishes waiting for service. At home, one jar, one egg, a sharp knife, and a shallow dish do the same work. The brigade quantities disappear, while the narrow fillets, alternating colours, capers, and moderate oil stay because they are the dish. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Keep the anchovies supple with their oil and cut them lengthwise without sawing. If a strip tears, don't discard it. Ça se rattrape: hide the break beneath a crossing strip and continue the pattern. The patient lattice is the one step that matters most.
Filets d’anchois belong to the French hors-d’œuvre table, particularly the Parisian bourgeois dining room and the professional garde-manger that supplied its composed cold dishes. Oil-cured anchovies traveled north from Mediterranean curing ports such as Collioure, turning a durable pantry fish into a carefully arranged first course. The lattice and alternating egg belong to garde-manger discipline, not to a generalized Provençal style, even though the preserved fish itself comes from the Mediterranean larder.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
oil-marinated anchovy halves
Quantity
16 halves (about 2 ounces / 60 g drained)
drained, with the oil reserved
large egg
Quantity
1
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 8 g)
finely chopped
small capers
Quantity
2 teaspoons (10 ml / 6 g)
drained and dried
reserved anchovy oil or mild olive oil
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g)
tender lettuce leaves (optional)
Quantity
2 packed cups (475 ml / 75 g)
cut using cisel for the salad variation
Cooked Marinade for Venison (optional)
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168)
cooled
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| oil-marinated anchovy halvesdrained, with the oil reserved | 16 halves (about 2 ounces / 60 g drained) |
| large egg | 1 |
| flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 8 g) |
| small capersdrained and dried | 2 teaspoons (10 ml / 6 g) |
| reserved anchovy oil or mild olive oil | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) |
| tender lettuce leaves (optional)cut using cisel for the salad variation | 2 packed cups (475 ml / 75 g) |
| Cooked Marinade for Venison (optional)cooled | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) |
Equipment Needed
- •Small saucepan with lid
- •Sharp paring knife
- •8-inch shallow oval hors-d’œuvre dish
Instructions
- 1
Hard-cook the egg
Put the egg in a small saucepan and cover it with cold water by 1 inch. Bring the water just to a boil, cover the pan, remove it from the heat, and leave the egg for 10 minutes. Cool it immediately in cold water, peel it, and pat it dry. If the yolk carries a thin grey edge, shave that edge away before chopping. Ça se rattrape, and the clean gold colour is worth preserving.
- 2
Cut the anchovies
Drain the anchovies without wiping away their protective film of oil. Lay each half flat and cut it lengthwise into two or three slender fillets, drawing a sharp knife through in one smooth movement. Keep the strips broad enough to lift without breaking. If the anchovies are stiff from the cold, leave them at room temperature for 5 minutes before cutting; forcing cold fillets is how they tear.
Taste one anchovy before assembling. If it is fiercely salty, give the remaining halves a very quick rinse in cold water, dry them thoroughly, and coat them again with a teaspoon of their oil. - 3
Prepare the lettuce variation
If serving the salad variation, use cisel, cutting the lettuce crosswise into fine, even ribbons. Toss it lightly with the cooled Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) and 1 teaspoon of the reserved oil, then spread it in the hors-d’œuvre dish. The referenced marinade remains a finished preparation from its own entry and is not rebuilt here. Dress sparingly, because wet lettuce will soften the lattice.
- 4
Separate the colours
Separate the cooked white from the yolk. Chop them finely on different parts of the board so the white stays white and the yolk remains a clear gold. Keep both separate from the parsley. This division may look fussy, but it is not brigade scaffolding: alternating the colours is part of the finished dish.
- 5
Build the lattice
Arrange half the anchovy strips in parallel lines across the shallow dish, about ½ inch apart. Cross them at right angles with the remaining strips, lifting every other line so the crossings alternate. Work from the centre outward and handle the fillets by their ends. If one breaks, place the damaged section beneath a crossing strip and carry on; the lattice will hold it neatly.
- 6
Finish and serve
Arrange the chopped egg white, yolk, and parsley in alternating little bands around the lattice, keeping the colours distinct rather than scattering them into confetti. Set the capers directly on the anchovy strips and drizzle the remaining oil moderately over everything. Let the dish settle for 10 minutes, then serve cool rather than refrigerator-numb. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose straight, firm anchovy fillets packed in oil. Rolled anchovies, anchovy paste, and brittle dry fillets cannot make the clean lattice this dish requires.
- •The Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) belongs only to the optional lettuce variation in this scaled preparation. Its acidity wakes the leaves; it does not replace the oil marinade protecting the anchovies.
- •Use a shallow dish with enough open surface to show the lattice. A deep bowl swallows the pattern, and piling the fillets makes them difficult to serve.
- •Pour a cold, dry white with brisk acidity, such as Picpoul de Pinet or Muscadet. The wine should clear the salt and oil, then get out of the anchovy's way.
Advance Preparation
- •Hard-cook the egg one day ahead and keep it chilled in its shell. Chop the white and yolk separately shortly before assembling so their colours remain clear.
- •The anchovies can be cut and held beneath a thin film of their oil for up to one day. Cover and refrigerate them, then let them soften for 5 minutes before building the lattice.
- •Assemble the dish up to 4 hours ahead, cover it without touching the garnish, and refrigerate. Add a lettuce base only shortly before serving so it stays crisp.
- •For a picnic, carry the covered dish in an ice-filled cooler and keep it below 40°F / 4°C until serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 55g)
Calories
85 calories
Total Fat
6 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
5 g
Cholesterol
60 mg
Sodium
620 mg
Total Carbohydrates
1 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
6 g
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