toast with anchovy and beetroot butter

To be totally honest, I don’t need new ways of eating butter. I can eat it as it is, with some salt, and be quite happy with no human contact – just bread, butter and my own company. However, there are some really cool ways of jazzing up butter and this is one of my faves, with salty anchovies, earthy cumin and sweet bright beetroot! This is simple and delicious and easy to make.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Roughly chop the beetroot, pat dry in paper towels to remove any moisture and add to a food processor. Whizz till no longer in large chunks.

Step 2

Add the butter, anchovies and ground cumin and whizz till you have a smooth paste. The butter is ready.

Step 3

To serve, I like to lightly oil both sides of the sourdough and pan-fry till just charred. Remove, spread with the butter, and add the sliced avocado on top.

Step 4

Using the same pan, heat a few tablespoons of oil till smoking hot, sprinkle in a decent pinch of ground cumin, crack in the eggs and fry till the whites are cooked, the yolk is runny and the edges are frilly.

Step 5

Add the eggs on top of the avocado and drizzle over the remainder of the cumin oil.

Step 6

If you have any butter left over, it makes for a great sauce to coat freshly cooked pasta or spaghetti.