Meredith and I have eaten this a thousand times, usually on a Sunday evening–our once-a-week pasta night.
It is from the matchless Marcella Hazan and is probably my favourite pasta dish of all time–comfort food par excellence!
What makes it so delicious is the anchovies–controversial little fish–not to everyone’s taste.
Here they deepen the taste without dominating.
The ones preserved in salt are best–they dissolve more readily than those in preserved in oil–but it’s a business preparing them for cooking.
Since I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes we have eaten wholewheat pasta and now we prefer it–it’s on the shelves of most supermarkets these days.
How al dente it’s cooked is a matter of taste.
In Italy you’d think it was an arrestable offence to overcook pasta–they cook it very al dente and it makes for agreeably slower eating.
for 4
2 medium cloves garlic–chopped
6 tablespoons olive oil
4 anchovy fillets–chopped fine and pounded into a paste in a mortar with a pestle if you have one
2 good tablespoons parsley–chopped
400 gm tin of tomatoes–chopped with their juice
salt & pepper
400 gms wholewheat spaghettini
- Lightly sauté the garlic in small saucepan until it colours.
- Take the pan off the heat and add the anchovies and parsley– stirring well to dissolve them into the oil
- Add the tomatoes, the salt and pepper.
- Cook at a steady simmer for about twenty five minutes, stirring regularly.
- When ready the sauce will have an unctious consistency and a little pool of oil on top.
Cook the spaghettini in plenty of well salted boiling water.- Test for your preferred “doneness”.
- Drain, put in a heated bowl and add the sauce.
- Mix well and serve.
Robin Ellis 
Looks absolutely terrific. I can’t wait to try it!
My kind of pasta! With anchovies, that reminds me of a puttanesca.Hey wait a second, it IS a puttanesca.
Puttanesca is by definition–HOT!
Add a couple of chilis and some olives and capers and you’re right–puttanesca.
You’ve puttanidea in my head for Sunday–thanks!!
I thought that puttanesca was by definition cheap but pure bliss, just like, well, you know… the professional women who cooked them originally.
But yes, I take the term liberally. My own variation has sardines instead of anchovies. Not as good, but cheaper.
I discovered your blog through Mozart Girl’s. And I checked on imdb and discovered that you played Colonel Mustard in the Cluedo series. I have never seen the series, but Cluedo was one of my favourite childhood boardgames and my favourite character was… Colonel Mustard. So I envy you.
Thank you – I shall cook this tonight. Wednesday is my pasta day! Love the picture of the rainbow – have you noticed – it looks as though you are wearing a dog-collar?
We are keen to have information about the new ‘Making Poldark’. Is it going to be available in UK? Please let us have details when you can.
We are finishing the editing of the new edition of “Making Poldark” today.
We’ll let you know, of course, when it becomes available.
Dog collar, eh?–don’t think I was in the doghouse yesterday!
I love not only your choice of words (“whizz”, “unctious”, and my all-time favorite, “nobbly sludge”) but the choice of ingredients. Too many of my cookbooks send me to the market to buy something I will use only for one recipe. Thanks also for taking the fear out of eggplants – I never could avoid making them tough, but I have followed your instructions and had success every time.
This recipe sounds like a winner, but I really want to see your version of puttanesca!
Thanks Debra,
Strange you should mention eggplants [aubergine]–our friends coming to dinner tonight had a glut this year and are bringing a kilo of them.
“Puttanesca” is in the cookbook.
When we were doing work on our kitchen in London many moons ago, Meredith just reminded me, we had pasta puttanesca so often for some reason, that we went off it for years. Time to revisit it on a cold autumn evening.
It looks delicious and I will try it soon. Robin, have you ever tasted spelt
pasta ? Currently, I prefer products made from organic spelt flour (e.g. pasta, rolls or bread). It is an ancient grain and has an renaissance in Germany.
I like the nutty flavour and it is easily digestible, high in fiber and contains more minerals and B vitamins than wheat. Spelt is usually tolerated by those with wheat allergies or sensitivities. It is a grain highly recommended by Saint Hildegard von Bingen, who lived in the 12th century. At this time she made rules how people can live more healthier. Some people have decided to eat by these rules in modern times. She was a multi-talented woman. A film was made about her life in 2009.
It’s funny how everyone has their pasta night. Ours is always Monday and usually with a tomato sauce. Some anchovy fillets added would make a nice change.