Pasta cu Anciova
Here’s another tinned fish recipe. I think this one might be a family recipe since I’ve never seen anything like it except when my friend Vinnie’s Sicilian grandmother made it. The first time I had it I was in my teens and eating dinner at Vinnie’s . It seemed strange to me then compared to my mother’s tomato sauce. But as I grew older, I often asked Vinnie’s grandmother to make it. There are some intense flavors here and even if you aren’t crazy about anchovies (anciova in Siciliànu), you should give this a try.
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 cans of anchovies packed in olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
- Red pepper to taste
- 1 can of tomato paste
- 1 ½ cups of water
- ½ cup chopped parsley divided
- 1 cup unseasoned toasted breadcrumbs
- 1 lb. pasta – perciatelli, bucatini, or spaghetti
Start a pot of water for the pasta.
Heat two tablespoons of olive oil over medium low heat. Empty the cans of anchovies with the oil they’re packed in, into the pan. Add the sliced garlic, stir, and simmer on low for 8 minutes. The anchovies will eventually dissolve so don’t worry about breaking them up.
Add the tomato paste, raise the heat, stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1 ½ cups of water and half of the parsley, blend, cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
While the sauce is simmering cook the pasta until almost done. Using tongs put the pasta in the sauce to finish cooking. Stir in the rest of the parsley and serve. Pass the toasted breadcrumbs to be sprinkled on the pasta.
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