I’m sure you are all familiar with this famous Italian pasta sauce but have you ever made it yourself? I have a confession to make, this was my first attempt too :D Not sure why it took me so long to try this one out because it can’t get any more simple than this. All the ingredients are already sitting in your pantry just waiting to become this beautiful authentic Italian pasta sauce! 15min is all you need, trust me it’s delicious :)
Ingredients – serves 2
3-4 cloves of garlic
4 salted anchovy fillets (don’t be afraid to use them in cooking, you will not taste the fish in the sauce I promise!)
50g black olives (stone in)
20g capers (chopped)
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 pinches dry chilli flakes
200g spaghetti/bigoli or any other pasta of your choice
50ml olive oil + more for serving
Pinch oregano
Fresh basil
Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper
Method
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Meanwhile, peel and finely slice the garlic and chop the anchovies.
Add 200g bigoli to the pan of boiling salted water and cook according to the packet instructions, until al dente.
Place a large frying pan over a medium heat, add 50ml olive oil, garlic and chilli flakes, then add the anchovies and stir for 3 minutes, or until the garlic starts to turn golden and the anchovies melt into the base. Make sure to do that over low-medium heat so you don’t burn the garlic.
Destone the olives and add them to the sauce together with chopped capers and a can of chopped tomatoes. I like to add a pinch of oregano to all my tomato sauces so do the same if you like :) Cook for 4-5min on medium heat, add some pasta water to the sauce if needed and cover with a lid.
Drain the spaghetti, reserving a cup of pasta water. Tear some fresh basil leaves in the sauce. Add pasta and a splash of the reserved cooking water, to loosen the sauce.
Have a taste and season, if needed. The sauce should be pretty salty from anchovies and capers so maybe you should just stick to freshly grounded pepper and skip salt. Transfer this beautiful pasta to a serving platter and top with a good shaving of fresh Parmesan, more basil and a drizzle of olive oil.
steak & merlot 