Egg Crostini with Radish and Anchovy

In a continuing effort to push winter out the back door once and for all, let's pretend for a moment that, no, we are not still wearing a down jackets and boots every day, we are eating radishes and butter, because it's spring!

This delightful little take on the crostini is an open faced attack on winter. I had it for lunch today, but found it my new favorite cookbook, Dinner, Changing the Game, by Melissa Clark.

The cookbook was a present this winter, that I shamelessly asked for point blank, because out the 225 recipes in the book - I know I will make at least 100. I've already made 20, some of them twice! This book has spent more time on the kitchen counter than on the shelf.

Egg crostini served with a simple salad makes a wonderful light dinner (or lunch!) that is pulled together in 15 minutes and most likely from ingredients you have on hand. Melissa Clark would have you use very fancy and fresh ingredients since this recipe depends on their flavor. You are certainly better off if you start with a good crusty sourdough bread. If I were serving company, I might actually consider it an excuse to buy extra-special-fancy-butter, but I'm here to tell you that my supermarket brand butter did a perfectly fine job for this impromptu lunch. That said, if you have farm fresh eggs from your box on hand, use them here.

Egg Crostini with Radish and Anchovy

from Dinner, Changing the Game by Melissa Clark

serves 2

4 large eggs, hard-cooked, peeled and sliced

Fine sea salt

4 1/2" thick slices country-style bread or 8 slices baguette

2 garlic cloves, halved crosswise

Fancy salted butter at room temperature (the supermarket butter in your fridge will also work just fine)

1 medium watermelon radish or 4 small radishes, thinly sliced

Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed

4-6 oil packed anchovy fillets

4 teaspoons drained capers

Fresh lemon juice, as needed

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Sliced scallion for garnish

Sprinkle the egg slices lightly with salt and set them aside.

Toast the bread, and rub the cut sides of the garlic over the hot toast, then slather the tops thickly with butter. You want the toast to be just cool enough so that the butter doesn't melt but stays creamy. Layer the egg and radish slices over the butter, and drizzle with olive oil. Top with the anchovy fillets and capers. Sprinkle with lemon juice and season with black pepper. Drizzle with additional olive oil and garnish with scallion.