Broccoli and Anchovy Sauce
In previous posts I’ve sung their praises, so you already know how I feel about anchovies. Broccoli is one of my favorite vegetables. Put those two ingredients together with chili pepper for heat and the richness of the cheeses and you have a sauce that becomes a classic example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.
I didn’t over cook my pasta, but it behaved as if I had. Although it was still al dente, the orecchiette fell apart. I’m wondering if it may be the brand I bought. Fortunately the taste didn’t suffer, just the appearance.
The slightly fizzy Vinho Verde from Portugual is the “soda pop” of white wines. Light and inexpensive (actually cheap), it’s not a wine for serious drinking. It’s a wine for a warm summer night and a pasta dish like Broccoli and Anchovy.
What a shame about the pasta. There was a reliable brand that we used for a long time, and then suddenly, it behaved in the same way as yours. Thinking it was a fluke, we tried several more times and then we just stopped buying it.
What a delicious sauce though!
I must go look up this recipe (and Sorry Marcella, lighten it a bit). I love, love, love anchovies!
Oh, Deborah, orecchiette pasta needs to be the real thing, made of real, tough durum wheat flour and dried very slowly. Whole Foods’ pasta is okay, but not great, for penne, but for orecchiette look for Benedetto Cavalieri or Cocco.
Victor says, if you really have to have a white wine with it, a gewurztraminer from Alsace might give you great pleasure.
Kim? What do you want me to lighten?
Deborah responds:
Thanks, Marcella, for the pasta brand suggestions. I’m relieved to hear that you also think it was a problem with the brand I used.
Tell Victor that I love gerwurztraminer. I bring some home with me from Paso Robles every year.
Kim wasn’t asking you to lighten anything, she was apologizing in advance to you for her plan to lighten up the calorie count in the recipe.