A quick family meal that packs a powerful flavour punch.
Ingredients:
225 g spaghetti
Sea salt
90 ml olive oil (divided)
4 cloves of garlic (chopped finely)
6 anchovy fillets (finely chopped)
Pinch of red pepper flakes
¼ cup capers (drained and chopped)
¼ cup black (or green) olives
225 g tomatoes (peeled)
Handful of finely chopped parsley leaves
30 g finely grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
140 g can of tuna (optional)
Method:
Spaghetti
- Place spaghetti in a large saucepan and cover with water, pinch of salt and drop of oil
- Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent pasta from sticking
- Cook the pasta just under al dente (about 1 minute less than the package recommends)
Sauce:
- In a medium saucepan combine 4 tablespoons (60ml) oil, garlic, anchovies and red pepper flakes.
- Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until garlic is lightly golden
- Adjust heat as its only necessary to keep it gently sizzling
- Add capers and olives while mixing it all together for flavours to blend
- Add tomatoes, stir to combine and bring it to a simmer
Ensemble:
- Drain pasta (reserving 1 cup of the cooking water)
- Transfer pasta to the sauce
- Add a few tablespoons of pasta water to the sauce and increase heat to bring pasta and sauce to vigorous simmer.
- Cook and stir adding more pasta water as necessary to keep sauce loose, until paste is perfectly al dente (approximately another 2 minutes)
- If using the canned tuna, break it up with a fork and mix it into the pasta at this point
- Stir in remaining olive oil, parsley and cheese into the mix
- Season with a generous helping of ground pepper
Serve immediately hot, with more grated cheese, parsley for garnish, olives and bread at the table.
ENJOY!