This dish is for when a 3 p.m. hang turns into a dinner party or when you’ve had too long of a day at work. But just because it’s comfort food doesn’t mean there aren’t techniques. They’re the same ones that go into every restaurant pasta you’ve ever loved: Salt the boiling water; cook the pasta al dente; create a silky sauce that marries pasta water, Parmesan, olive oil, and butter.
Recipe information
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
12
4
¼
3
¼
4
¾
⅓
1
1
Preparation
Step 1
Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until very al dente, about 3 minutes less than package directions.
Step 2
Meanwhile, cook garlic and ¼ cup oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until garlic is golden, about 4 minutes. Add anchovies (if using) and red pepper flakes and cook, smashing anchovies with a wooden spoon to break them up, until anchovies begin to dissolve, about 1 minute.
Step 3
Using tongs, transfer pasta to pot with garlic and anchovies, then add butter, ¾ cup Parmesan, 1¼ cups pasta cooking liquid, and lots of black pepper. Cook, tossing energetically and adding more pasta cooking liquid if needed, until pasta is al dente and sauce is thickened and coats pasta, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in parsley, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Step 4
Divide pasta among bowls; drizzle with oil and top with more Parmesan.
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Leave a Review
Reviews (52)
Back to TopI don't know if I did something wrong, but mixing the pasta water and parm prior to tossing in pasta 1) created a lot of splatter with the hot olive oil and 2) created a thick melted anchovy-cheese sediment that sank to the bottom and didn't mix with the pasta despite my best energetic tossing attempts. Next time,I'm going to add almost al dente pasta straight into the oil before mixing the pasta water and parm.
Annie_Y
DC
4/14/2018
I guess it'll work but nothing great. Loved the idea though the anchovy flavor didn't really come through. Mostly pepper. It was just okay. The other reviewer is right, when you add permesan to a pan over heat it's just going to clump together. I knew that would happen so I waited till the end after I turned the heat off to add the cheese.
mabeor
New York City
4/15/2018
This recipe turned out great, the cheese blended really well with the pasta water unlike the other reviews mentioned. Need to make sure the cheesy is finely grated and I added some more anchovies.
Anonymous
NEW YORK CITY
4/17/2018
Yes, I would make it again, but I wish I'd paid more attention to the comments. I added more anchovies, but next time I think I'd double up, and I would use the fine edge on a lemon zester instead of a grater and add it in the last few seconds of frying the garlic. I will also use another clove of garlic and add more parmesan cheese and parsley.
Anonymous
Virginia
5/1/2018
I agree with the first review. My parm got very clumpy and mostly stuck to the pan. Not sure how I screwed it up. I would also agree it had a bit of a pepper kick, didn’t mind that though. I loved reading and watching this recipe. I am going to try it again with a better quality parm that is finely grated, hoping that was the issue.
James Maxwell
Atlanta
12/6/2018
I really like this recipe, but it took me a few goes to get right. As others have said, I would recommend adding more anchovies than the recipe states. I also had a problem with the anchovies and parm clumping together, but I solved this by simmering the parm for a little longer and by adding a little more pasta water and stirring to make sure as much parm had dissolved as possible, creating a more consistent sauce. I'd also recommend you go easy on the salt in your pasta water.. the anchovies and cheese are very salty and if you salt your pasta water as much as it usually would be, the dish becomes way to salty. Now that I feel I've mastered this recipe, it's become one of my go to recipes that I call upon and I pick up a tin of anchovies every time I'm at the shops. Cheers Andy!
odjuan
Edinburgh, Scotland
12/16/2018
Love. Love. Love.
shannon-lia
Germany
12/30/2018