One night in Finland, they brought unforgettable bread and butter to the table. Bread cut thick, offered on a narrow wooden board, a mound of whipped butter and, to one side a glazed bowl of salt. The bread was sourdough with a chewy crust, the butter as soft as a cornet full of Mr Whippy, the salt freckled with wild arctic thyme. With a little wooden knife I smeared the butter considerably thicker than my conscience allowed, sprinkled three fat, gritty pinches of the grey-flecked salt on top and tucked in.
Back at home, the idea of flavoured butters has barely left my head. I have beaten butter with sea salt in snowflake-sized pieces and chopped thyme leaves to give a saline, herbal crunch as you spread; I have mashed preserved artichokes – the pale green-grey sort from a bottle – to give a gently flavoured medium in which to cook fragile fillets of lemon sole; I have incorporated chopped green olives and capers, dill and mustard and made new buttercream for cakes, too.
On the sweet side, I have embellished my usual buttercream – the one I save for coffee cake – with a chocolate spread and a crunchy shrapnel of praline. A sort of mocha icing with tiny flecks of amber nuttiness that turned a village hall coffee cake into a Viennese fancy worthy of the flashiest occasion.
Back to dinner, I have also made a butter of extraordinary usefulness. I keep it in the fridge for melting in a pan and tossing with ribbons of fettucine. I mash anchovies, capers, dill and very finely zested lemon into butter and use it for baked potatoes, cooking fish and lamb, tossing with pasta and best of all, for spreading. Because that is where it starts. Bread and butter.
Coffee, Nutella and praline slice
A cake that creates a lot of washing up – but is worth all that and more.
Makes 12 slices
butter 120g
golden caster sugar 120g
eggs 2
self-raising flour 120g
baking powder 1 tsp
hot espresso coffee 2 tbsp
For the filling:
caster sugar 6 heaped tbsp
flaked almonds 6 heaped tbsp
groundnut oil a little
butter 200g
icing sugar 200g
chocolate spread, such as Nutella 200g
To make the cake, put the butter and sugar in the bowl of a food mixer fitted with a beating attachment and cream together until light and fluffy. Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4. Line the base of asquare 20cm cake tin with baking parchment. Break the eggs and add them, a little at a time, to the butter and sugar. If the mixture curdles or becomes grainy at all, then add aspoonful of flour. Sieve the baking powder and flour together, then add, with the mixer on low speed, to the cake mixture. Pour in the espresso coffee, stir well then transfer to the cake tin and smooth the surface.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Check by piercing with a metal skewer or knitting needle. If it comes out of the cake clean, without any wet cake mixture on, then it is cooked. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool.
To make the buttercream filling, lightly oil a baking sheet. Warm the caster sugar in a nonstick, shallow pan without stirring. As it starts to melt, add the flaked almonds and let them colour lightly. As the mixture starts to darken to toffee colour, stir slowly and gently to ensure an even colour, then remove from the heat and tip on to the oiled baking sheet.
Beat together the butter and icing sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the Nutella and beat until fully incorporated. Crush the almonds and sugar with a rolling pin or in afood processor until they resemble coarse crumbs, putting a few larger pieces to one side for decoration. Stir half of the finely crushed nuts and sugar into the buttercream.
Lift the cake from the tin and peel off the baking parchment. Slice it in half horizontally. Spread the cut side of the bottom half with a good third of the buttercream, then place the second half on top, cut-side down. Spread half the remaining cream thinly on the top. Slice the cake into 12 equal portions, then spread a thin layer of the remaining buttercream around the sides, scatter each with adusting of the praline, and serve.
Lemon sole, artichoke and tarragon butter
A delicate dish of quiet colours and gentle flavours. A few small potatoes on the side would be good.
Serves 2
For the artichoke butter:
butter 100g
preserved artichokes 3
lemon juice a little (optional)
lemon sole 4 fillets (2 soles)
butter 2 heaped tbsp
preserved artichokes 4
tarragon 8g
olive oil 1 tbsp
In a food processor, mix the ingredients for the artichoke butter to a rough paste. Add a little salt and black pepper and, if you wish, asqueeze of lemon juice.
Melt two heaped tbsp of the butter in a shallow, nonstick pan. Slice each fillet of lemon sole in half to give two short pieces, then lower them into the hot butter. Slice 4 small preserved artichokes in half and add to the pan.
Let the fish and artichokes cook for a couple of minutes on each side, constantly spooning the butter over them. They should have a little colour, but take care not to overcook them. Add the chopped tarragon to the pan, spooning it over the fish as it cooks. Serve the extra butter on the side. It is good melted over new potatoes.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk. Follow Nigel on Twitter @NigelSlater
