I couldn’t have come up with a more original name for this pasta dish. I’m a huge fan of anchovies. Be it Ikan Bilis (Souteast Asian dried anchovies), Jeotgal (Korean salted fermented anchovies, nam pla (Thai fish sauce made from anchovies), I love them all!
In this post, I’m talking about those European cured anchovies packed in oil. I think it is one of those love-it or hate-it type of food. During our recent trip to Europe, I brought back a can of Sicilian anchovies (so regretting I did not get more..boo hoo! :-().
Photo courtesy of Amazon.com. I threw away my can and kept the anchovies in a container.
I’ve used up half of it already and there wasn’t a lot to begin with. Anyhow, I absolutely fell in love with this pasta dish which I had in one of those trattorias (Italian-styled rustic eating establishments) in Italy. Upon the first bite, my palette was hit with a wave of garlicky, briny and tangy umami-ness. I’m salivating at the thought of it. The taste is similar to Aglio Olio except more intense, thanks to the anchovies. The chopped almonds lend a crunchy texture and nutty flavor to the pasta. Okay, enough of the description. Let’s get started.
Ingredients:
4 oz (100 g) spaghetti or linguine
4 cups (1 litre) water
4 tsp salt
3 strips anchovy fillets – drained and chopped
3 cloves garlic – minced
1/4 cup (40 g) lightly salted roasted almonds – chopped
a bunch of fresh Italian parsley – chopped finely
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Olive oil
Serves 2
Recipe source: my own – inspired by a trattoria in Italy
Prepare all your ingredients.
I used a mortar and pestle to break up the almonds. You could also use a knife to chop them up.
Tons of flavor in these anchovies.
In a large pot, bring the water to boil and add in the salt. Cook the pasta according to the cooking time on the packet. 2 minutes before ETD, heat up a large pan or skillet and drizzle in some olive oil. Add in the garlic, red pepper flakes and anchovies and cook for 30 secs or until garlic turn golden brown.
Do not burn the garlic.
Drain your pasta and add into the pan. Add in chopped almonds and mix well. If the pasta is too dry, add in a few spoons of the pasta water.
No additional salt is required.
Squeeze the lemon juice into the pasta, drop in the chopped parsley and turn off heat. Give it a final mix and voila! Pasta is ready. 🙂
Done!
Buon Appetito!
Full instructions:
Prepare all your ingredients. In a large pot, bring the water to boil and add in the salt. Cook the pasta according to the cooking time on the packet. 2 minutes before ETD, heat up a large pan or skillet and drizzle in some olive oil. Add in the garlic, red pepper flakes and anchovies and cook for 30 secs or until garlic turn golden brown. Drain your pasta and add into the pan. Add in chopped almonds and mix well. If the pasta is too dry, add in a few spoons of the pasta water. Squeeze the lemon juice into the pasta, drop in the chopped parsley and turn off heat. Give it a final mix and voila! Pasta is ready.
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