Anchovy, Garlic, Tomato Pasta

I have been craving pasta for the past couple of weeks.  Maybe my body is lacking something or more likely I was just wanting to eat pasta.  I finally succumbed to the craving and made a scrumptious and very moreish meal, I think even my friend John would be impressed.

Anchovy, Garlic, Tomato Pasta

If you don’t want to make your own pasta, use your choice of store bought.

Pasta Ingredients

200g all purpose flour
2 large eggs
1ml salt
5ml olive oil

Method

1. Place the flour on a counter top and create a mound with a crater in the middle. Put the eggs, salt and oil into the crater.
2. Beat the eggs with a fork and gradually incorporate the flour until all the egg is incorporated into the flour.  The dough should be of a rough consistency, feel slightly sticky to the touch and moist. If it’s too sticky sprinkle a bit more flour on the mixture.
3. Using the palm of your hand push the dough down and away from you. Flip it back towards you and fold it in half. Once again push the dough down and away from you, rotating the dough so that it kneads in every direction. Continue until the dough becomes smooth.
4. Wrap the dough in cling film and rest for 20 minutes. Don’t put it into the fridge.  I sometimes even skipped this step.
5. If you don’t have a pasta machine to roll out your pasta, using a rolling pin, roll dough until flat and fairly thin.
6. Roll the entire dough up like a pancake and cut into slices. The width of the cut will determine the thickness of your pasta. Unravel the pasta into strips.
7. Cook for three to five minutes until al dente in a generous amount of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally to separate strands and prevent sticking.

Sauce Ingredients

15 ml olive oil
20 anchovies – more if you can resist eating them straight from the bottle
1 tin Italian tomatoes chopped
5ml sugar
3 garlic cloves crushed
Salt and black pepper to taste
Fresh coriander and flat leaf parsley chopped for serving

Method

1. Mash the anchovies in the oil  in a pan.
2. Add the tomatoes and sugar and reduce by half.
3. Add the garlic and salt and pepper to taste.

Add your drained pasta to the pan with the tomatoes sauce.  Once plated, top with the coriander and parsley.

A few shavings of parmesan wouldn’t go a miss here either.

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Anchovie, Garlic and Basil Linguine

This supper which comes together in the length of time it takes your pasta to cook, is a satisfying tasty meal for when you really don’t feel like standing in the kitchen cooking, or like me, your husband is away on business and you sat behind the computer the whole day until way passed your normal dinner time.  When I make it again, I think I shall add a splash of white wine and or possibly some chopped black olives.  I may just add that to the leftovers for lunch.

Ingredients

250g linguine or pasta of choice
8 anchovies
4 garlic cloves crushed
Black pepper to taste
6 basil leaves chiffonade

Method

1. Cook the linguine according to packet instructions.
2. Mash the anchovies including some of the oil from the bottle or tin in a pan over a medium heat.
3. Add the garlic and pasta and stir to combine.
4. Add the black pepper, basil and a drizzle of olive oil.

Mediterranean Tartlets

I’d rather you don’t but judge me if you must; I do not make puff pastry, I honestly don’t think it is worth the effort when there are lovely brands available in store and I always have one or two rolls of puff pastry in the freezer, just waiting to be turned into something tasty.  Puff pastry can transform an ordinary dish into an extraordinary one.  I got the idea for these wonderful tratlets from the Baked and Delicious magazine and they will be making a regular appearance on our lunch menu – think next round will be a chicken liver and onion variation.

Mediterranean Tartlets

As ameneded from Baked and Delicious

Ingredients

400g packet puff pastry defrosted
16 anchovies
Half round of feta crumbled
16 roma tomatoes quarted
8 slices streaky bacon cut in half
Vegetable / Italian spice
Olive oil for drizzling
1 egg beaten

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Roll out the pastry and cut into 4 pieces and place on a greased baking sheet , leaving a small gap between each one.
3. Use a sharp knife to mark a 1cm border around each piece of pastry, taking care not to cut right through the pastry.
4. Arrange all of the ingredients on the 4 pieces of pastry and sprinkle with the spice and olive oil.
5. Brush the edges of the tarts with the egg and bake for 20 minutes.

A nice addition would be some basil pesto spread onto the pastry before adding all of the other ingredients. 🙂