Anchovy spaghetti has been my life-long favourite pasta dish (and it's the best storecupboard dinner of all time). I had a load of cherry tomatoes at their peak today so roasted them slowly at the bottom of the oven then threw them in to the pasta at the end - their juicy sweetness was a really delicious addition!
Prepare: 10 minutes
Cook: 1 hour or so
Serves: 4
300g cherry tomatoes
2 - 3 tbsp olive oil
6 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
100g jar anchovies in oil
400g spaghetti
bunch of flat parsley, finely chopped
dried chilli flakes
1 Preheat the oven to 180C, gas mark 6. Tip the tomatoes into a small roasting tin, drizzle with a little oil then cover with foil and roast for at least an hour until very soft and juicy.
2 Meanwhile, very gently heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in small saucepan and cook the garlic slices for 10-15 minutes until very pale golden, don't allow it to brown or it will taste a little bitter.
3 Add the anchovies and their oil to the garlic pan and continue to cook gently for a few minutes, stirring until the anchovies disintegrate.
4 Now, cook the spaghetti in a large pan of very lightly salted boiling water.
5 Add a ladle or two of the pasta cooking water to the anchovy pan and season with plenty of black pepper.
6 Drain the pasta and return to the pan. Add the anchovy sauce, roasted tomatoes and their juices, the parsley and a few chilli flakes and toss well together. Divide between bowls and serve swiftly.