Herring Butter

This savoury herring butter is why you should always keep canned fish in your pantry. If herring butter sounds strange to you, think of it as rillettes made with rich, smoked fish instead of the typical pork. It’s flavourful, creamy and equally friendly to a picklish topping. Note that this butter can be made with any soft canned fish; smoked sardines make an excellent substitution. However, if you’re using smoked salmon, use six ounces instead of the four called for here, because the flavour isn’t quite as strong as herring or sardines.

Toast and Toppings:
1 baguette (~ 12 oz)
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
flaky sea salt, such as Maldon or Jacobsen
1 cup pickled vegetables, drained
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup fresh Italian parsley leaves, loosely packed, thinly sliced

Herring Butter:
4 oz smoked herring or sardines, oil-packed, drained
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 Tbsp. shallot, finely chopped
½ tsp. Dijon mustard
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
flaky sea salt, such as Maldon or Jacobsen

Make the Toasts:
Arrange 2 racks to divide the oven into thirds and heat to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4).

Using a large serrated knife, cut the bread at an angle into ½" slices. Arrange the slices on 2 large baking sheets, brush with the olive oil, and sprinkle with salt.

Bake until the toasts are blonde and crisp, rotating the pans once or twice during baking, 10-15 minutes total. (Toward the end of baking, if the toasts aren't baking at the same rate, remove the browned ones so you can let the others continue baking.) Let the toasts cool on a cooling rack and serve within a few hours.

Make the Herring Butter:
Place the fish, butter, shallot, mustard, and cayenne in a bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer on high speed until the mixture is homogenous, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula if needed, 1-2 minutes total. Taste and season with salt if needed; set aside. (Different fish have different saltiness levels, so it's important to taste before salting.)

When ready to serve, stir the pickled vegetables and olive oil together in a small bowl. Spread about 1 Tbsp. of the herring butter on each toast (you will have extra toasts; save for another use). Top each with a chubby pile of pickled vegetables and pinch of parsley.

Makes 1⅓ cup.