Chef Juliette
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Culinary Explorer
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Anchovy Medallions
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 304, Anchovy Medallions, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Chilled vegetable discs, anchovy fillets fitted neatly around the rim, and three classical centres: a small canapé that teaches proportion, clean shaping, and the discipline of seasoning cold food.
Appetizers & Snacks
French
Make Ahead
Dinner Party
45 min
Active Time
1 hr cook•2 hr 30 min total
Yield16 medallions (serves 6 to 8)
Médaillons d’Anchois (anchovy medallions) teach one true thing: in a cold canapé, proportion is the seasoning. The vegetable must be thick enough to carry the bite, the anchovy narrow enough to frame rather than conquer it, and the centre no larger than a generous teaspoon.
The original assumed a garde-manger station with several garnishes waiting, fine anchovies already resting in oil, and five quarts of Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) close at hand. Your equivalent is sixteen medallions, one spoonful of that finished preparation, and a 3.2 cm cutter in place of the obsolete half-crown coin. Several toppings were useful abundance for a brigade; at home, choose one or divide the batch among them. That is scaffolding. The cold vegetable disc and its close anchovy border are the dish, and they stay.
Cut only when the potato or beet is completely cold, then dry every surface before fitting the anchovies. If the discs are warm or damp, the fillets slide and the centres bleed into them. Cold, dry, even discs are the step that decides everything.
These médaillons belong to the Parisian repertoire of hors-d’œuvre froids, where the garde-manger built small cold openings from prepared vegetables, cured fish, eggs, and roe. The name describes the coin-like shape rather than a cut of meat, while the anchovy border serves as both seasoning and structure. From grand cold platters, the form passed naturally to the home apéritif table, where a modest batch and one well-chosen centre make better sense.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
waxy potatoes or medium beetroots
Quantity
1 pound (450 g)
potatoes left whole and unpeeled, or beetroots scrubbed
finished Cooked Marinade for Venison
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168)
fully chilled
fine anchovy fillets marinated in oil
Quantity
16 to 32 fillets (about 3 ounces / 90 g drained)
enough to circle each disc
large hard-boiled eggs (optional)
Quantity
2 eggs (about 3½ ounces / 100 g without shells)
finely chopped
caviare (optional)
Quantity
¼ cup (60 ml / 50 g)
well chilled
prepared fully cooked fish milt purée (optional)
Quantity
⅓ cup (80 ml / 80 g)
well chilled
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| waxy potatoes or medium beetrootspotatoes left whole and unpeeled, or beetroots scrubbed | 1 pound (450 g) |
| finished Cooked Marinade for Venisonfully chilled | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168) |
| fine anchovy fillets marinated in oilenough to circle each disc | 16 to 32 fillets (about 3 ounces / 90 g drained) |
| large hard-boiled eggs (optional)finely chopped | 2 eggs (about 3½ ounces / 100 g without shells) |
| caviare (optional)well chilled | ¼ cup (60 ml / 50 g) |
| prepared fully cooked fish milt purée (optional)well chilled | ⅓ cup (80 ml / 80 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •1¼-inch (3.2 cm) round cutter
- •Small saucepan or rimmed baking dish
- •Small spoon or palette knife
Instructions
- 1
Cook the vegetable base
For potatoes, cover the whole unpeeled potatoes with cold water, bring them to a gentle simmer, and cook for 18 to 25 minutes, until a skewer enters with slight resistance. Drain immediately. For beetroot, bake the whole scrubbed roots at 375°F (190°C) for 45 to 70 minutes, until a skewer passes through without force. Let either vegetable cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 45 minutes. If a potato went slightly too far and feels fragile, don't cut it warm. Chill it until firm; ça se rattrape.
Waxy potatoes hold their edges better than floury ones. The centre should be tender, but a collapsing potato cannot support its anchovy border. - 2
Prepare the centres
Choose chopped hard-boiled egg, caviare, prepared fully cooked milt purée, or divide the medallions among all three. Chop the egg finely enough to sit in a neat mound without becoming paste. Keep caviare and milt purée covered in the cold until assembly; warmth loosens both and makes clean portions difficult.
- 3
Cut even discs
Peel the cold potatoes or beetroots. Slice them crosswise about ⅜ inch (8 mm) thick, then stamp out 1¼-inch (3.2 cm) rounds. This cutter is the honest equivalent of the half-crown named by the original recipe. Lay the discs between clean towels and blot both sides thoroughly. If an edge crumbles, chill the slice again and recut it with a slightly smaller cutter rather than pressing the damage together.
- 4
Apply the marinade
Arrange the dry discs in a single layer and brush them very sparingly with the fully chilled Cooked Marinade for Venison (No. 168), using the measured spoonful across the entire batch. Let them stand for 5 minutes, then blot away every visible bead. The marinade should season the vegetable, not soak it. If the surface looks glossy-wet, blot once more and chill for 10 minutes before continuing.
- 5
Fit the anchovy borders
Drain the anchovy fillets while leaving them supple. Wrap one long fillet or two shorter fillets around the edge of each disc, matching the anchovy's width to the vegetable's thickness and overlapping the ends slightly. Press just firmly enough for the fillet to grip. If it slides, stop: blot the disc and anchovy, chill them for 10 minutes, and try again. Ça se rattrape. A wet surface is the culprit, not your hands.
- 6
Fill and chill
Place about ½ teaspoon of the chosen centre on each medallion. Mound chopped egg lightly, spoon caviare without crushing the eggs, and smooth milt purée with the back of a small spoon. Keep every centre inside its anchovy border. Cover without touching the tops and chill for 30 minutes, then serve within 4 hours while the vegetables remain firm and the anchovies glossy. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose fine anchovies cured in oil, not pale vinegar-cured fillets. The latter belong to a different preparation and bring too much acid to this small bite.
- •Potato gives a quiet, creamy base that lets the anchovy lead. Baked beetroot is sweeter, earthier, and more dramatic in colour. Baking matters because boiling dilutes it and leaves the surface harder to dry.
- •Cold food needs decisive seasoning, but anchovy and caviare already bring plenty of salt. Taste one completed medallion before reaching for anything else.
- •Fish milt is seasonal and fishmonger-dependent. If it isn't available as a properly prepared, fully cooked purée, choose chopped egg. The source gives you that option honestly.
- •Save the vegetable trimmings for a dressed potato salad or beet salad. Cooking well is not cooking fancy, and tidy circles needn't mean wasted food.
Advance Preparation
- •Cook and chill the potatoes or beetroots up to one day ahead. Keep them whole and covered, then slice and cut the discs while cold.
- •The anchovy-bordered vegetable discs can be assembled up to 4 hours before serving. Cover and refrigerate them, adding caviare shortly before the platter goes to the table.
- •Hard-boiled egg may be chopped earlier the same day and held covered in the cold. These medallions do not freeze well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 105g)
Calories
120 calories
Total Fat
3 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
2 g
Cholesterol
75 mg
Sodium
580 mg
Total Carbohydrates
14 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
8 g
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