Chef Juliette
Smelt (Éperlans)
Tiny éperlans, lightly floured and fried until their tails stand crisp, arrive in a generous heap on a napkin with fried parsley and grooved lemon, a weeknight lesson in heat and restraint.
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Rolled Anchovies
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 303, Rolled Anchovies, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Anchois roulés turn three ingredients into a proper cold hors-d'œuvre: firm green olives packed with beurre d'anchois, each bound by one intact fillet and chilled until the butter holds cleanly.
Appetizers & Snacks
French
Dinner Party
Make Ahead
Special Occasion
30 min
Active Time
0 min cook•1 hr 30 min total
Yield4 servings (12 pieces)
Anchois roulés (rolled anchovies) teach the discipline of the cold hors-d'œuvre: temperature is structure. The one true thing to know before touching a pan is that no pan belongs here. If the butter warms, the filling smears and the anchovy ring slips; kept cold, three ingredients become a precise, generous two-bite morsel.
The original assumed the cold side of a brigade: a garde-manger who would tourner, cutting each olive from its stone in one continuous spiral, a crock of beurre d'anchois already made, and trays assembled in quantity. No saucier, perpetual stockpot, or salamander is hiding behind this one. At home, firm pitted olives provide the same hollow oval, and a small mortar makes only the butter twelve pieces require. Identical hand-turned olives were service scaffolding, so they go; real butter, a fully packed center, thorough chilling, and one whole fillet around every olive are the dish, so they stay. One cook, one stove, one evening, though the stove gets the night off.
When they are right, the olives are cool and taut, the beurre d'anchois tastes first of the sea and then of sweet butter, and each outer fillet holds like a satin ribbon. Dry every olive and anchovy thoroughly before assembly. Moisture is the enemy of the hold, and that drying is the one step that matters most.
Anchois roulés belong to the Parisian cold hors-d'œuvre repertoire, where olives, salted fish, and compound butters were arranged in small bites to open a formal meal. The preparation traveled from grand-kitchen cold tables to the home apéritif because it requires no cooking, only the garde-manger's habits of neat trimming, thorough chilling, and disciplined seasoning. Its apparent decoration is structural: turning opened the olive for butter, while the intact anchovy fillet kept the rich filling and briny fruit together in one bite.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
large firm green olives
Quantity
12 (about ¾ cup / 110 g drained)
unstuffed and pitted
oil-packed anchovy fillets
Quantity
16 (about ⅓ cup / 50 g drained)
12 kept whole and 4 reserved for the butter
unsalted butter
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g)
cool and pliable
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| large firm green olivesunstuffed and pitted | 12 (about ¾ cup / 110 g drained) |
| oil-packed anchovy fillets12 kept whole and 4 reserved for the butter | 16 (about ⅓ cup / 50 g drained) |
| unsalted buttercool and pliable | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Small mortar and pestle or broad chef's knife
- •Small piping bag or sturdy food-storage bag
- •Small spoon
- •Chilled oval serving platter
Instructions
- 1
Prepare olives and anchovies
Drain the olives and anchovies separately. Taste an olive; if its brine is fiercely salty, rinse the olives briefly under cold water. Pat their outsides dry, then twist a corner of absorbent paper and dry each cavity as well. Lay the anchovies between clean sheets of absorbent paper without pressing them flat. Choose the 12 longest, broadest, intact fillets for wrapping and keep them cold; reserve the remaining 4 for the beurre d'anchois. If a wrapping fillet tears, move it to the butter group and replace it with an intact one. The outer fillet must remain whole because it is both the ribbon and the fastening.
Oil and brine left on the ingredients make the butter slide. Dry surfaces are what allow this cold construction to hold. - 2
Make the beurre d'anchois
Mash the 4 reserved anchovy fillets in a small mortar until no distinct pieces remain. Add the butter a teaspoon at a time, working each addition completely into the anchovy paste before adding the next. The finished beurre d'anchois should be smooth, evenly buff-colored, and pliable enough to press without looking oily. If it turns greasy, it has become too warm; chill it for 8 to 10 minutes, then work it briefly until smooth again. Never melt it. Real butter gives this filling its clean set and sweet finish.
- 3
Fill and firm
Transfer the beurre d'anchois to a small piping bag and cut a narrow opening, or use the tip of a small spoon. Fill every olive from both ends so the butter reaches the center without trapping an air pocket, then wipe the openings level. Set the olives on a cold plate and chill for 20 minutes, until the filling is firm to a light touch. If the butter pulls out or refuses to stay put, the olive is damp or the filling is warm. Blot the cavity, chill both for 10 minutes, and pack it again. Ça se rattrape.
- 4
Circle each olive
Lay one whole anchovy fillet against the broad middle of an olive and bring it around in a complete ring, keeping the silvery outer surface visible. Overlap the narrow ends slightly and place the olive seam-side down. Do not stretch the fillet, which makes it tear and spring away as it chills. Repeat with the remaining olives, returning the platter to the cold if the butter begins to soften.
- 5
Chill and serve
Arrange the anchois roulés in a single layer on a small chilled platter. Cover without pressing on the fillets and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until the butter holds firmly and the anchovy rings cling to the olives. Set them out about 5 minutes before serving so the butter yields under the teeth rather than tasting waxy. Serve three per person, with cocktail picks if you like. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose large, firm, unstuffed green olives with a clean central cavity. Soft olives collapse under the anchovy ring, while garlic-filled or heavily herbed olives compete with the beurre d'anchois.
- •Flat oil-packed anchovy fillets are the right modern pantry choice. Open the package before you begin and identify 12 long, undamaged fillets; short or broken ones belong in the butter.
- •There is no added salt. Anchovies and olives bring plenty, and the unsalted butter gives that salinity somewhere to settle.
- •Serve with a very dry Muscadet or a cold glass of Champagne. The wine needs freshness and restraint beside this much olive and anchovy.
Advance Preparation
- •The beurre d'anchois can be made up to 2 days ahead. Press parchment directly against its surface, cover, and refrigerate; let it soften for 5 to 10 minutes before filling the olives.
- •The finished anchois roulés can be assembled up to 24 hours ahead. Keep them covered in a single layer so the anchovy fillets neither dry out nor become crushed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 51g)
Calories
140 calories
Total Fat
14 g
Saturated Fat
6 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
7 g
Cholesterol
35 mg
Sodium
890 mg
Total Carbohydrates
1 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
4 g
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