anchovies

Anchovy Pasta (olive oil)

This is a recipe that I learnt from my friend Andrew Lum. Simple, exotic and delicious. I finished all 170 grams of the spaghetti and my tummy is still rumbling. I think I must be very hungry, or the pasta is really yummy. I suspect it is the latter. Simple to prepare and great for gatherings, you can prepare this pasta in less than 15 minutes. Of course, you need to know what you are doing in order to meet the 15 minute timing. But no worries, can one.

The only problem I find with this particular recipe is the availability of the Anchovy. I use canned Anchovy from Cold Storage, and it seems that NTUC, even Finest, don’t really sell the preserved fish. They sell all kinds of Sardines, Tuna, but somehow I can’t seem to find the Anchovy. Ok, that said, maybe I didn’t try hard enough. Maybe I should also ask someone at the store? I admit that I am the if-I-can’t-find-it-at-the-store-it-is-likely-to-be-sold-out type of shopper. Either that or I don’t bother to ask. Okay, I am lazy.

Recipe

Ingredients

 

250 grams Barilla Spaghetti *cooks in 5 minutes – 2 servings*

1 can Anchovy Fillets in Extra Virgin Olive Oil (50 grams) *Waitrose brand from Cold Storage*

1 Egg *raw*

5 Chilli Padi *reduced the chillis if you can’t take the heat*

1 Punnet Cherry Tomatoes *sliced*

1 Box Sweet Basil leaves

Parmesan Cheese

 

Method

1. Boil a pot of water. Add oil and sea salt. How much depends on yourself. Add pasta in the pot once the water is boiling. Note the number of minutes that is needed to cook the pasta to al dente, this is usually indicated on the packaging of the Barilla Pasta box. If you want it a little softer, then you cook it a minute of two longer.

2. For some folks, they sometimes complain that the pasta noodles have an odd smell. I don’t have that problem. Maybe it might be a case of the quality of pasta? Who knows.

3. Once pasta is cooked, drain the pasta and immediately add the raw egg, chilli padi and anchovies (mashed). Mix thoroughly, and allow the egg to coat the hot pasta. This will also partly cook the egg. The egg acts like a sauce in a way. Add sliced cherry tomatoes and sweet basil and give it a good mix.

4. Serve with grated Parmesan Cheese.

Bon Appetit!