Anchovy, Tomato and Caper Spaghetti
I do the big food shop on a Monday, which means that by Thursday or Friday the fridge is looking pretty bare and dinner comes out of the cupboard instead. This is the one I fall back on more than any other. A tin of anchovies, a tin of tomatoes, a jar of capers and a packet of spaghetti will happily sit in there for months waiting for exactly this sort of evening, and the whole lot costs a couple of pounds.
If anchovies put you off, I’d really encourage you to try them here anyway. They don’t end up tasting fishy at all. You cook them in the oil at the start and they simply dissolve into the sauce, leaving behind a deep savoury flavour that you’d struggle to get any other way. Nobody I’ve served this to has ever guessed what was in it.
The capers are what stop the sauce from feeling heavy. They bring a sharp, briny hit that cuts through the richness of the tomatoes, and along with a pinch of chilli flakes they do most of the seasoning work for you. Go easy on the salt until the very end, because between the anchovies and the capers there’s already plenty in there.
It’s on the table in about twenty minutes, which is roughly how long the spaghetti takes to cook. Keep a mug of the starchy pasta water back before you drain it and use a splash of it to loosen the sauce at the end, as that’s what makes it cling to the strands properly. If you want another quick storecupboard pasta, my tuna and pesto pasta does a similar job.
Anchovy, Tomato and Caper Spaghetti
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 2 people
Serving size: 370g
Calories per serving: 602
Fat per serving: 19.2g
Ingredients
- 200g spaghetti
- 8 anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained and roughly chopped
- 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp capers, drained
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
- Small handful of flat-leaf parsley (finely chopped)
- Black pepper to season
Method
- Put a large pan of salted water on to boil for the spaghetti.
- While it comes up to the boil, place a wide frying pan on a low heat with the olive oil. Add the sliced garlic and the chopped anchovies.
- Cook gently for 3-4 minutes, stirring and pressing the anchovies with the back of your spoon until they have completely melted away into the oil. Keep the heat low here, as burnt garlic will ruin the sauce.
- Stir in the chilli flakes and cook for another 30 seconds, then tip in the chopped tomatoes and the capers.
- Turn the heat up to a gentle simmer and let the sauce bubble away for 12-15 minutes, until it has thickened and darkened.
- Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in the boiling water according to the packet instructions. Scoop out a mugful of the cooking water just before you drain it.
- Add the drained spaghetti straight into the sauce with a splash of the reserved pasta water and toss it all together for a minute, until the sauce coats every strand.
- Taste and add black pepper. Serve with the chopped parsley scattered over the top.
