15 Minute Anchovy Pasta

15 Minute Anchovy Pasta

Once again, it is Friday! I simply cannot believe that it has been five days since I last said hello to you. Where did the week go? Before you know it, Christmas will be upon us! Have you started you preparations? Well, I have started experimenting in the kitchen and I do hope to share some Christmas perfect fast and fail proof recipes with you soon. Do let me know if there are any particular recipes that you want me to share with you! Just drop me an email or comment.

Since all these kitchen experiments have been taking up my time, I have been eating really “fast” food. This superb 15 minute anchovy pasta dish is sure going to be a staple in your busy week. It certainly has been in mine. The secret ingredient here is brandy. Just little over a tablespoon of brandy will lend a nice full bodied taste to this pasta dish.

Recipe for 15 Minute Anchovy Pasta

Prep Time: 8 minutes / Cooking Time 7 minutes / Serves 2

Ingredients

200gm Dried Spaghetti (cooked according to the instructions on the packet)

1 small tin (50gm) of Anchovy Fillets in Olive Oil (slice the anchovies, save the oil for the pasta)

80gm Chestnut Mushrooms (sliced)

2 Tomatoes (roughly chopped)

2 cloves Garlic (thinly sliced)

1.5 Tbsp Brandy

½ tsp Salt

1 tsp Dried Chilli Flakes

1 tsp Dried Oregano

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

4-5 Fresh Basil Leaves

Method

1. Boil the pasta according to the instructions on the packet. Do not forget to add plenty of salt to the water to prevent the pasta from sticking later. Meanwhile, prepare all your other ingredients. Once the pasta is boiled, drain in a colander and pour about 1 Tbsp of olive oil over the pasta and toss to coat evenly. Reserve about half a ladle of the pasta water to add into the dish.

2. Heat up a pan, open the tin of anchovies and pour about 3 quarters of the oil in. Once hot, sauté the garlic slices, before it colours, very quickly add in the dried chilli flakes and oregano, sauté quickly and be very careful not to burn. Add in the sliced mushrooms and sauté for about 2 minutes until softened and cooked.

3. Now, add in the brandy followed by the sliced anchovy fillets. Sauté with the other ingredients before adding in the tomatoes. Give the tomatoes a quick stir, if the mixture seems to dry, go ahead and add in some of that reserved pasta water. There should be a slight sauce but not too much as this is generally a dry dish. 

4. Add in the ready boiled pasta. Season with salt and pepper and toss the ingredients and pasta evenly. Switch off the heat. Roughly tear up the basil leaves and stir through. Remove from the pan and serve immediately.