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Pasta con Acciughe (Italian Anchovies and Pinenuts)

italian-pastaacciugheI 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. Pasta seasoned with chopped parsley, anchovies, pinenuts and hot pepper heated in a pan with other anchovies and extra virgin olive oil. Ideal to put together at the last minute. You will surely have the ingredients in your pantry especially the main one, that is the anchovies in oil, for everything else you can play around with and invent your own version of this very simple dish.

Pasta:
1 lb pasta (400 g)
2 Tbsp. sea salt

Sauce:
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small red bell pepper, finely diced
5 anchovy fillets, packed in oil
½-1 cup passata or tomato purée
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
½ cup pinenuts
1 lemon, freshly juiced
5 anchovy fillets, packed in oil, chopped

Garnish:
Parmesan cheese, freshly shaved
fresh Italian parsley, chopped finely

In a large pot, bring the water to boil and add in the salt. Cook the pasta according to the cooking time on the package.

While the pasta is cooking, heat up a large pan or skillet on medium-high heat and drizzle in some olive oil. Add in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until the garlic turns golden brown. Remove and set aside.

To the same pan, add bell peppers, whole anchovies with its oil, pasatta (start with a ½ cup and add more if needed), red pepper flakes and pinenuts. Stir until combined. Reduce heat to low and let simmer.

Drain your pasta (reserve 1 cup of pasta water) and add to the anchovy sauce. If the pasta is too dry, add in a few spoons (or more) of the pasta water. Squeeze the lemon juice into the pasta, add the chopped anchovies and let simmer for a couple of minutes in the sauce so that they can be well flavoured. Give it a final mix and serve with freshly shaved Parmesan cheese and parsley, if desired.

Makes 4 servings.