Appetizer Recipes

Tomato & Anchovy Butter

After years of being cast in supporting roles, it looks like butter — that long-standing kitchen workhorse — has finally hit it big. Herby butters, sweet butters, boozy butters, and big beautiful boards of nothing but dressed-up, creamy butter are popping up all over the socials. We’re all in!

Here, we mince sun-dried tomatoes with anchovy, pungent fresh garlic, briny capers, and crushed red pepper flakes to create a seasonal butter blend that hits every one of the five tastes — even umami. It could be the star of your holiday butter board or an ensemble act with charcuterie and cheeses. It will melt effortlessly into a bowl of piping hot al dente noodles or roasted root vegetables. And we love it layered on sandwiches or smeared on slices of toasted sourdough for a deeply savory midday snack.

Our tips: We all know it’s the little things that elevate fresh, whole-food ingredients, and when one of those little things can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for a week or in the freezer for a whole month, we’re here for it. Make a batch of tomato-anchovy butter ahead of time, then pull it out to wow last-minute guests or add a glamorous touch to a weeknight meal.

Yield: 1 ½ cups

Tomato & Anchovy Butter
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Appetizer

Tomato & Anchovy Butter

Ingredients

2 sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained
1 anchovy
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp drained capers
¼ tsp Gelson’s crushed red pepper flakes
1 ½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
1 Tbsp tomato paste
Kosher salt, to taste

Directions

  1. Mince the sun-dried tomatoes, anchovy, garlic, and capers. Transfer them to a mortar and pestle, add the red pepper flakes, and grind into a fine paste.

  2. In a small skillet over medium-low heat, melt ¼ cup of the butter. Add the paste and cook for 2 minutes, or until sizzling and softened.

  3. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute or until dark red.

  4. Transfer the tomato-anchovy paste to the bowl of a stand mixer and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

  5. Add the remaining butter and, using the whisk attachment, beat on medium-low speed until smooth. Season with salt.

  6. Transfer the butter to an airtight container and chill it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving. Leftover butter can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Calculate nutrition information for this recipe.