Ode to the Anchovy

The anchovy is such an underrated fish - it can add an amazing complexity to the simplest dish. My favorite way to use anchovies is in pasta. I was so happy to be able to find a jar of nice anchovy fillets in oil at the store the other day - trust me, it's not easy to find in Bangladesh!

DARN - forgot to take a picture, I was so anxious to eat - you'll have to imagine it.

Here's what I cooked up for lunch today:

Ingredients (makes 1-2 servings)
Prep & Cooking time - less than 30 minutes

• Olive oil
• 2-3 cloves of fresh garlic - smashed and chopped coarsely
• 3-4 anchovy fillets
• Chile flakes (or ground chile) to taste
• 2 tablespoons of GOOD tomato paste (I'm talking real Italian concentrated tomato paste here - just tomatoes and salt, simmered down to a paste...none of this canned stuff with vinegar in it!)
  
• Spaghettini (or spaghetti/angel hair - spaghettini is between angel hair and spaghetti) pasta

Start the water boiling for the pasta with a couple of generous pinches of salt. Various cookbooks/cooking shows mention that this is the only way to introduce flavor into the pasta itself - during the cooking time.

While the water is coming to a boil - get the remaining ingredients set out. For my *spamolicious* friends out there - I included a couple of slices of SPAM, julienned into short, thin strips. I know lots of people who don't like SPAM, so you can omit it from the recipe (which is why I don't detail it in the list above) or use prosciutto or other tasty pork product. Either way - the pasta is tasty with/without any meat in it.

By the time you've got your mise en place (all your ingredients prepped and set out) - the water should be boiling. Add 1-2 handfuls of pasta (broken in half) into the boiling water, turn it down to a joyful simmer to continue to cook while you prepare the sauce. (Stir occasionally to keep the pasta from sticking into clumps.)

Heat a frying pan/saute pan with several tablespoons of good olive oil - since the sauce is so simple, the better your olive oil the more tasty your sauce will be. You want enough olive oil to nicely coat the bottom of the pan since it will be a main component in the sauce. (Don't go running out to buy anything fancy - just use what's in your pantry...it's just something to keep in mind if you want to increase the quality of this simple dish for guests.)

Toss in your anchovy fillets - notice how the fillets sort of melt away into the oil as it breaks down in the heat. If you need to, you can help to break the anchovies using a wooden spoon. Add your chopped garlic and let the garlic brown nicely. (Don't burn it!)

SPAM fans - add the julienned spam now and let it brown with the garlic.

At this point - your pasta should be al dente. Did you forget about your pasta? Drain the pasta as soon as it's al dente, regardless of where you are with the sauce. If you need to - turn down the heat on your sauce while you quickly pour the pasta into a colander to let it drain. (Don't rinse the pasta - you want it to have the starch from the cooking water on it to help the sauce to stick.)

If you don't have tomato paste or feel like a simpler sauce - you can sprinkle in the chile flakes/powder to your frying pan of "sauce" and then lightly toss with the hot pasta. Top with freshly grated Parmesan for a simple pasta dish.

If you want a light tomato sauce - then add the tomato paste to the pan after the garlic is nicely browned and mix with a wooden spoon to incorporate the flavorful oil into the tomato paste. Sprinkle with chile flakes/powder to taste and then toss with the hot pasta until it is thoroughly coated. You'll end up with tasty pasta dish that's super quick and easy. Just remember that this isn't a pasta dish with a lot of sauce, its just enough to lightly coat all the strands of pasta with yummy tomato goodness. (Trust me - you won't even be able to taste the anchovies, they just add a wonderful complex saltiness to the dish!)

Give it a try - it's always good to have anchovies in the pantry. This dish is so simple to make - and most folks have all the ingredients they need at any given time!