Sicilian Pasta With Anchovies and Toasted Breadcrumbs is a traditional recipe from Palermo, Sicilia. There, you’ll find it under its original name: Pasta c’Anciuova e Muddica Atturrata. We shared the love for this rich, savory Sicilian pantry pasta with our friend Sasha Marx. The combination of salty, sweet, umami, and crunchy blew his mind! Recipe test after recipe test (read: dinner parties) along with our Palermitano expert Salvatore, Sasha finally nailed the perfect balance of flavor intensity and satisfying mouthfeel. Be prepared, you’re about to use a lot of anchovies!
Here’s our adapted version of the recipe.
Ingredients
SERVES: 4-5 people
TIME: About 40 minutes
- Extra virgin olive oil, 5 tablespoons, divided
- Breadcrumbs, 3/4 cup
- Yellow onion, 1 small, thinly sliced
- Garlic cloves, 2, thinly sliced
- Sicilian anchovy fillets in olive oil, 8
- Pianogrillo Stratto tomato concentrate, 4 tablespoons
- Bucatini Faella, 1 bag (500 gr/1.1 lb)
- Zibbibo raisins, 2 tablespoons
- Italian pine nuts, 2 tablespoons
- Sea salt
Preparation
- Combine breadcrumbs and 1 tablespoon of EVOO in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp and golden brown. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, season very lightly with sea salt.
- Heat the remaining 4 tablespoons of EVOO in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté onions and garlic until softened but not browned (about 5 minutes).
- Add the anchovies and cook, stirring and breaking them up with a wooden spoon. Begin cooking the bucatini.
- Add tomato concentrate and stir to combine with the onion-anchovy mixture. Cook until the mixture turns dark brick red and is very dry.
- Transfer 1 cup boiling water from the pasta pot to the skillet to loosen the mixture, stirring until it becomes homogenous and creamy. Reduce heat on skillet to the lowest possible setting.
- When the pasta is 2 minutes away from al dente, transfer it to the sauce along with 1/2 cup pasta cooking water.
- Increase heat to high and cook, stirring and tossing rapidly, until pasta is al dente and coated in sauce. It should just barely pool around the edges of the pan.
- Add raisins, pine nuts, and about half the breadcrumbs, tossing to combine. Pasta should be well-coated but not swimming in sauce (this dish is meant to have a slightly drier consistency than typical sauced pastas).
- Plate, sprinkle with remaining breadcrumbs, and serve right away.