I’ve had an interesting couple of days, here, on the internet. The recipe I published on Friday for anchovies on toast with a parsley and shallot salad went viral on Instagram. When this happens, it’s normal to receive lots of friendly interactions from regular people - at first. Then, inevitably, the trolls appear. A rusty dungeon gate creaks on its hinges, and mediocre men projectile gush from the gloom. Sorry, yes, they are usually men. Very specifically, young men with 50 Instagram followers and usernames like ‘emperorofeverything’ and ‘truthseeker141’. Apparently, Marco Pierre White had also made anchovy toast with parsley on top a mere month previously. I wouldn’t know, because I don’t follow him. The conclusion was therefore that I had STOLEN the idea of anchovies on toast, as if it hadn’t existed for centuries. Absolutely unhinged and incredibly amusing. To me, at least. The idea actually came from combining anchovies on toast (an obvious classic) with the St. John parsley salad. If anything, MPW should’ve credited St. John! I know I did. Ha. I tell you this because it’s funny, and thank goodness for Substack. I’ve yet to encounter here the kind of human detritus common on the more aged platforms, although I expect it’s only a matter of time. Substack still reminds me of the early days of blogging, »puts slippers on« before that, too, went to shit.
Anyway. I come to you today with a recipe for crumpet croutons, an idea I had thanks to (CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE COMING UP TAKE NOTE) Ixta Belfrage who published a recipe for them in her first book, Mezcla. It’s a brilliant idea because, of course, crumpets have lots of holes (more like tubes, really, in cross-section) and craggy areas that soak up flavour. I wanted to sponge bathe them in something good, which ended up being chilli crisp and sesame. I’ve made a sort of eggy-oil emulsion on them, which bronzes them in the oven and also acts as a glue for all the bits. The other thing to note here is the soup, which is a tomato soup you can make when tomatoes are out of season, because we all have needs. I use sundried tomatoes to enrich the base flavour (holds up ‘make sundried tomatoes fashionable again’ banner) and I roast the rest with some sugar, peppers, onion and garlic. Blend it all up, add some cream and these croutons, and you have an exceptional bowl that will catapult your mind towards the heady days of summer when, frankly, it will be too hot to eat soup anyway due to global warming. Sorry! But it’s true. Best make it now when you can actually enjoy it. Helen x
Chilli Crisp and Sesame Crumpet Croutons + Cold Weather Tomato Soup Crumpet croutons Cold-weather tomato soup CROUTONS Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, then pour in the chilli oil in a gradual stream but pretty swiftly, stopping as soon as it’s incorporated. Don’t over whisk. Toss the crumpet pieces in the egg mix, add the chilli oil sediment, sesame seeds and some salt and toss again. Spread out on a baking tray and bake 20-25 minutes, or until crisp. Reserve any bits that have fallen off! These make great sprinkles. SOUP Heat the oven to 180°C fan. Combine the cherry tomatoes, pepper chunks, sliced onion and garlic bulb on a baking tray, drizzle generously with olive oil (make sure you get the top of those garlic cloves) and season with salt. Add the sugar and sherry vinegar and mix to ensure everything is coated. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the tomatoes are bursting and everything is looking like it’s properly given up. A little charring in places is good. Allow the garlic to cool for 5 minutes before squeezing out the cloves. Whizz the sundried tomatoes to a paste in a small food processor. Add the sundried tomatoes to a saucepan over low heat and cook gently for 5 minutes or so, stirring. Then add all the vegetables from the roasting tray, including any juices and the garlic cloves. Add the stock and allow to simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and blend to a smooth paste using a stick/immersion blender. If using an upright blender, ensure you don’t fill it more than halfway. Serve with swirls of cream on top and the croutons.
Until next time, Flavour Fans x
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Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Flavour Nugget #70: Chilli crisp + sesame crumpet croutons
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