17th
Tebow pasta (with anchovies, garlic, cherry tomatoes)
It’s winter. Remember when I made those delicious pastas with those great summer ingredients? Yeah, me neither. At this time of year, you are generally eating jarred tomato sauce and weeping. (Some of you do that all year long, but that isn’t my fault.) Anyway, by now I’m craving a pasta dish with some fresh vegetables, and there are things you can do, but what I really want are tomatoes, and supermarket tomatoes this time of year are just pathetic. Horrible texture, watery, taste like nothing.
But cherry tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes are something else entirely. Cherry tomatoes will make you say a little prayer. Or… well, you know.
Man, this dish is so good, and so simple. The anchovies and garlic provide so much flavor (the garlic is essentially pan-roasted, and who doesn’t like roasted garlic?) and you actually get to eat tomatoes that aren’t miserable. Hallelujah!
Some of you still haven’t gotten over your aversion to anchovies. This is very 2007 of you. Anchovies aren’t even fishy! They provide umami and saltiness and depth of flavor, and at some point I’m just going to give up on you. Did you just get your first iPod? Are you really into Arcade Fire? Get over it.
Recipe credit: Mark Bittman.
PASTA WITH ANCHOVIES, GARLIC, CHERRY TOMATOES
2/3 lb pasta
2 tins anchovies
8 cloves garlic, peeled but whole
1 package cherry tomatoes, halved
olive oil
freshly grated parmesan cheese
1. Boil pasta until al dente in heavily salted water.
2. Add dash of olive oil to pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until just beginning to color (garlic will continue to brown with anchovies). Add anchovies and cook a few minutes, stirring to break up the anchovies. Cook until garlic is sufficiently colored, complex and dark.
3. Add cherry tomatoes and cook until just beginning to break up. Add cooked pasta to pan and stir. Serve, passing parmesan.
