Monday, August 18, 2014

Tomatoes & Anchovy Butter Pasta



 Anchovies?!?!!  Eeeeeewwwwwwwwwww.

Right? Wrong. I had never cooked with this much-maligned little fishes before; but they are really easy to work with and add a really robust flavor to a dish.


I accidentally bought sardines at first. That will not substitute because those are little fish that look like little fish. These will break down and emulsify into your sauce. So make the extra trip to the store like I did.


Slice up a bunch of cherry tomatoes lengthwise. I think they look better that way, but I'm sure they will turn out fine either way. If your knife is sharp enough, this should be really easy. If it isn't, try using a serrated knife so you don't smash the tomatoes.


Heat 4 tbsp of unsalted butter in a skillet over medium heat with 2 anchovy fillets and 4 garlic cloves (I like minced).  Cook this for four minutes, stirring often, until the butter has turned brown from the broken down anchovies & garlic.


Cook 1/2 lb of spaghetti in salted water for about 5-6 minutes until al dente, reserve 1/2 cup of the starchy water, and drain the pasta.


Do not rinse. Repeat: do not rinse.


Addthe tomatoes to the sauce and cook 8-10 minutes until they soften and begin to fall apart.  Add the pasta and 1/2 cup starchy water and finish cooking the pasta in the sauce.  Top it all with fresh parsley and serve.


 This sauce is so rich, and just a bit funky (but in a very good way). It isn't a real aggressive flavor either. There is a real rich depth of flavor that just coats your pallet with that rich sauce. The tomatoes are soft and sweet and play really nicely with that rich sauce.

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