Thursday, June 17, 2010

Becky: ICBC Anchovies



This recipe was prepared at the launch of Measure Up – the Government’s latest initiative in the fight against obesity – by Lucio Galleto and Logan Campbell of Lucio's Italian Restaurant.

Ingredients

500g Orecchiette pasta
1/2 head broccoli
120 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic chopped finely
5 anchovy fillets
2 red hot chili finely chopped
Salt and pepper
Grated parmesan (optional)

Preparation

Prepare the broccoli by removing the flowerets, and discarding any larger woody part of the stems, slice the remaining stems thinly.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, blanch the broccoli flowerets and stems for about 4 minutes, then drain with a slotted spoon and plunge into ice cold water, drain again and set aside.

Throw the orecchiette into the still boiling water and cook for one minute less than the stated cooking time on the packet.

In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a large non stick pan on a low heat. Add the garlic, chili and anchovies, sauté for 3 minutes being very careful not to burn the garlic, then add the broccoli, mixing delicately with a wooden spoon, season to taste. Drain the pasta and add to the pan, reserving a little of the cooking liquid.

Stir well to coat the pasta, adding a little of the pasta cooking water to make a creamy sauce.

Serve immediately – parmesan may be grated on top if preferred.

I found this recipe online at SBS.com. As usual, I did make a change to the recipe...I used elbow macaroni instead of the orechiette, figuring that it wouldn't make much of a difference. I already had some elbow macaroni left over from making mac and cheese for my daughter, and I thought it could come into use for this recipe.

I actually really enjoyed this recipe! I remember for a long time I was pretty turned off by the idea of anchovies. When my older sister was in high school she used to work at a Pizza Hut, and she always used to tell me how much she hated it when customers ordered anchovies on their pizzas because she thought they were gross and slimy. But of course this was way back when I was a picky eater. Now, as an adult, I'll try pretty much anything. I can see what she meant...they were a little slimy to handle being packed in olive oil, but to me they were just another type of fish. They added a very strong, distinctive taste to the pasta that I actually really enjoyed...kind of a salty, garlicky taste. What surprised me was that my 19-month-old daughter actually liked it! Of course she didn't eat any of the chili pepper pieces, but she loved the pasta and the broccoli...Not sure how she'll feel when she'd older though and I tell her that I fed her anchovies when she was a baby! Haha. Definitely a good recipe though!

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