Croûtes of Cod’s Roe (1906)
Reader ratingsCroûtes of cod’s roe from Mrs Beeton’s 1906 Book of Household Management: smoked roe fried in butter on rounds of fried bread with shallot, parsley and cayenne, finished with anchovy butter.
- Recipe makes
- 8 croûtes, 4 servings
- Prep
- Cook
- Total
The roe soaks in water for an hour before it is sliced. Make the anchovy butter during the soak; the croûtes are fried at the last minute and served as hot as possible.
Croûtes of cod’s roe with anchovy butter.
The story behind the recipe
The last course of Scott’s midwinter dinner on June 22, 1911, came after the plum pudding and the mince pies: “a dainty savoury of anchovy and cod’s roe.” A savory was a small, hot, salty mouthful served at the end of a dinner, and this one is a slice of smoked roe on a piece of fried bread.
A chapter for any meal
Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management, in its 1906 edition, gives croûtes of cod’s roe in a chapter headed “Savouries, Hors d’Oeuvres, and Breakfast Dishes,” made for “the morning meal, luncheon, etc.” and grouped “irrespective of their composition, to suit the convenience of the reader.” The croûtes sit with the savories. The roe goes onto its fried bread with shallot, parsley and “a few grains of cayenne,” to be served “as hot as possible.”
For a grander look, Beeton suggests decorating the roe with strips of gherkin and egg white, “or anchovy butter.” Her anchovy butter is pounded anchovies worked into fresh butter, colored with Krona pepper, which she calls “mild, agreeably-flavoured.” Anchovy and cod’s roe together is exactly the pairing Scott named.
Read more about this recipe
Making it today
Smoked cod’s roe is sold whole, in its thin skin, by fishmongers. We peel the skin after soaking, which makes the slices neater, and we cut the croûtes with a cutter from thick slices of white bread and fry them in butter, since Beeton doesn’t say how her fried bread is made. Sweet paprika stands in for Krona pepper. The anchovy butter is half of Beeton’s amount and goes on top of each hot slice, so it melts a little at the table.
The savory closes the meal in What Did Scott’s Men Eat for Midwinter at Cape Evans?, which began with soup and the Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding (1906).
Ingredients.—½ a lb. of smoked cod’s roe, 8 oval-shaped croûtes of fried bread, 1 oz. of butter, ½ a teaspoonful of finely-chopped chives or shallot, ½ a teaspoonful of finely-chopped parsley, pepper, cayenne.
Method.—Soak the roe in water for 1 hour to soften it, then drain and dry it thoroughly. ...
Recipe makes: 8 croûtes, 4 servings
Ingredients
For 8 croûtes, 4 servings. Quantities are shown as written.
Quantities as written here, for 8 croûtes, 4 servings.
Anchovy butter
- Unsalted butter, softened2 oz
- Anchovy fillets in oil, drained6
- Sweet paprika1 pinch
Croûtes
- White bread, about 1/2 inch thick4 slices
- Butter for frying the bread1.5 oz
- Smoked cod’s roe8 oz
- Butter for frying the roe1 oz
- Finely chopped chives or shallot1 pinch
- Finely chopped parsley1 pinch
- Black pepper1 pinch
- Cayenne1 pinch
Measurement notes
Ingredients as written here
- 2 oz unsalted butter, softened
- 6 anchovy fillets in oil, drained
- 1 pinch sweet paprika
- 4 slices white bread, about ½ inch thick
- 1.5 oz butter for frying the bread
- 8 oz smoked cod’s roe
- 1 oz butter for frying the roe
- 1 pinch finely chopped chives or shallot
- 1 pinch finely chopped parsley
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 1 pinch cayenne
Equipment
- Bowl for soaking
- Large frying pan
- Small bowl and fork, or a mortar and pestle
- Oval or round cutter, about 2½ inches
- Paper towels
Instructions
Put the smoked cod’s roe in the bowl, cover it with cold water and leave it for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, make the anchovy butter. Mash the anchovy fillets to a paste with the fork, or pound them in the mortar, then work in the softened butter and the paprika until smooth and evenly pink. Keep it at cool room temperature.
Drain the roe and dry it thoroughly on paper towels. Peel off the skin and cut the roe into slices, one for each croûte.
Cut ovals or rounds from the bread with the cutter, two from each slice. Heat the butter for frying the bread in the frying pan over medium heat and fry the croûtes for 2 to 3 minutes a side, until crisp and golden. Drain them on paper towels and keep them warm.
Wipe out the pan, heat the butter for frying the roe over medium heat and fry the slices of roe lightly, about 1 minute a side, until heated through.
Sprinkle the croûtes with the chives or shallot, the parsley and the pepper. Lay a slice of roe on each, add a few grains of cayenne and put a small piece of anchovy butter on top. Serve at once.
Nutrition
375calories per serving
- Recipe makes
- 8 croûtes, 4 servings
- Servings
- 4
Estimated per serving of two croûtes from USDA FoodData Central values for the listed ingredients.
Recipe notes
When adjusting quantities
Allow two croûtes a person as a savory, one as a canapé.
Notes
Quantities mentioned in these notes don’t change when you adjust the servings.
Beeton allows fresh roe as well: washed, boiled gently for 10 minutes in water seasoned with vinegar and salt, cooled, sliced and fried the same way. Her other decoration, strips of gherkin and hard-boiled egg white, can replace the anchovy butter. Leftover anchovy butter keeps for a week in the refrigerator. Contains fish, wheat and milk.
Scaling changes the ingredients only; pan sizes and cooking times need their own judgment. To adapt this recipe further, try the recipe tool at TuneMyRecipe (opens in a new tab), our sister site.
Sources and attribution
After Isabella Beeton, Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management, new edition (London: Ward, Lock, 1906), Croûtes of Cod’s Roe (no. 2747) and Anchovy Butter (no. 2454)
Recipe details
- Course
- Starter
- Dish family
- Fish & Seafood
- Region
- British
- Era
- Edwardian
- Source decade
- 1900s
- Main ingredient
- Fish
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Occasion
- Dinner party