Author Notes
I usually make carbonara on the weekend but decided to go in a different direction after spying a can of anchovies and a can of tomatoes in the cupboard. I'm convinced that anchovies are under-utilized in many dishes but I don't add them much because many people (my parents, my roommates, my best friend, my ex) hate them.
Since I was feeding a few friends, including one of my anchovy hating roommates, I had to be very secretive about what was going into the pasta. When it came time for me to pop the little guys into the sauce I made sure Roomie was headed downstairs to put the trash out. The espionage paid off- he liked the pasta so much he went back for two helpings.
I didn't give him the recipe. —Wilterdink
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Ingredients
- Secret Sauce
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2 tablespoons
Butter
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1
Yellow Onion, chopped. I love onions so I used a large one.
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Salt and Pepper
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4 or 5
Anchovy Fillets, minced. Mine were packed in oil.
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1
Can Roma tomatoes, without basil.
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1 teaspoon
Sweet Paprika
- The other bits
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2-3
Zucchini, sliced into rounds
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1
Box wheat pasta
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Asiago Cheese, grated
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3
Eggs, whisked with a fork
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Fresh Basil, sliced thinly
Directions
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Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a nonstick pan and add the onion. Stir to coat the onion with the butter. Cook over medium heat for two minutes while you chop up the anchovies.
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Add salt and fresh ground pepper.
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Mince the anchovies and add to the sauce. Let them cook down with the onion for another 3 or 4 minutes.
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Pour the can of Roma tomatoes into the pan. If the tomatoes are whole, crush them with a fork. Turn the heat up a bit.
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Add the paprika and stir. If the sauce is bubbling too much, turn down the heat. Let everything cook while you make the rest of the pasta.
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Add the remaining two tablespoons of butter to another pan. **I used a big cast iron fry pan that's also big enough to boil my pasta. Less clean up for later.
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Add the zucchini and cook until there's still a bit of crunch to the veggies. Remove from the pan and set aside.
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Fill your pan up with water and set it over high heat to boil.
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Cook your pasta (I used penne but any other type will do)
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Once the pasta is al dente, scoop out a small bit of the pasta water and add to your tomato sauce. Then drain the pasta.
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Add the pasta to your tomato sauce (or vice versa depending on which pan is bigger).
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Stir the pasta over low heat and add the eggs. Keep stirring so the eggs meld into the sauce. If the heat is too high you'll get scrambled eggs.
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Add the cheese and the basil to the dish. Add salt and pepper if needed.
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