spaghetti with white anchovies & breadcrumbs

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At a party I recently attended, someone mentioned a Sicilian recipe that intrigued me. The pure simplicity of the dish was appealing – spaghetti with breadcrumbs, garlic, and anchovies.  I typically do not like anchovies so I thought I would try Boquerrones, or white anchovies, that are supposed to have a mild, more subtle flavor than the dark salty, hairy anchovies typically found in Cesar salads or on pizza.  I used White Anchovy Fillets by La Conserviera di Burano, which I now refer to as “the one and only anchovy” for connoisseurs.

spaghetti_anchovy_parmsean.jpgSpaghetti with Anchovies & Breadcrumbs
Spaghetti con Acciughe e Mollica

Ingredients

  • 1/2  cup toasted fresh breadcrumbs (see below)
  • 1lb spaghetti, reserve 1/4 cup of water from the spaghetti
  • 1/2  cup extra virgin olive oil plus 2 tablespoons of EVO
  • 6 cloves chopped garlic
  • 8 white anchovy filets
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper
  • 1/8  cup capers
  • sea salt
  • Garnish with parsley and breadcrumbs
  • (option) Grated Sicilian pecorino or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese per plate

INSTRUCTIONS
Bread Crumbs
To prepare the toasted breadcrumbs it is preferable to make them from stale, dry bread. Pulse the breadcrumbs in a food processor until you have coarse crumbs. Its best not to use pre-packaged breadcrumbs–they are too fine for this purpose.

  1. Over medium heat, lightly coat a pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and allow the pan to warm
  2. Add the breadcrumbs, stirring constantly to prevent the breadcrumbs from sticking or burning. Cooking until evenly toasted to a nice golden brown color
  3. Remove them from the pan setting aside 1/4 of the bread crumbs for garnish and the rest will be added to the sauce.

Spaghetti

  1. Just before starting the Anchovy Sauce, bring a large pot of salted water to rapid boil. Add the spaghetti, stirring occasionally to prevent pasta from sticking. Cook per instructions, until tender to the bite, preferably al dente. 
  2. When the spaghetti is done, drain and set aside.
  3. But first, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water  – set aside. While the spaghetti is cooking, prepare the Anchovy sauce.

Anchovy Sauce

  1. Chopped the garlic. Chop the parsley.  Rinse the capers – set all three aside
  2. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Add crushed garlic, and saute for a few minutes, stirring so they do not overcook.
  3. Add anchovies and crushed red pepper flakes, mashing the anchovies in the pan with a wooden spoon.
  4. Add capers and 1/8 cup of the pasta water to the pan and stir ingredients together. Remove from heat
  5. When the spaghetti is done and drained, return the anchovy sauce to the burner and over moderate heat, add the spaghetti to the Anchovy sauce coating all strands.
  6. Add breadcrumbs and parsley. Add more of the reserved pasta water if it seems too dry, tossing everything together.

Plate the dish
Add a serving size portion of the spaghetti to each dish. Top with some of the  reserved bread crumb and a splash of extra virgin olive oil. Add cheese if using, and if you like to spice things up–a sprinkle of red hot pepper flakes. Garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.