Jumping fish

Linguine with anchovies, almonds & sage

  • 4 persons
  • cooking time: 15 minuten
  • difficulty

Ingredients

  • 400 g linguine (or other pasta)
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil for frying, plus some extra for the pasta
  • 100 g whole blanched almonds
  • 20 g butter
  • 1 handful of fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
  • 1 tin (50 g) of anchovies in olive oil, drained
  • olive oil to drizzle
  • salt and pepper

How to prepare

Salted anchovies have been used for centuries as a condiment in Mediterranean cuisine. The small fish fillets are salted, layered in pressure vessels and then mature for up to ten months at 15-30°C. The relatively high temperatures cause bacteria and enzymes to produce complex aromas in the anchovies: delicate notes of mushrooms, meat, butter, sugar and even fruit or flowers. Salted anchovies dissolve easily in sauces and other dishes, adding extra flavour.

 

Preparation

  • 1 Cook the pasta al dente in a pot with lightly salted water. Shortly before the pasta is ready, skim 1 tbsp. of the cooking water into a cup and set aside. Drain the pasta through a sieve and mix it with some olive oil so that it does not stick together.
  • 2 Heat the olive oil in a large pan at medium temperature and sauté the almonds for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until they are golden brown. Then add the butter and half of the sage.
  • 3 Mash half of the anchovies with a fork, put them in the pan and fry them for one minute. Add the pasta and the pasta water that has been set aside and season the dish with pepper (salt is not necessary as the anchovies are already quite salty).
  • 4 Arrange the dish on four plates and garnish with the rest of the anchovies and sage. Drizzle with a little olive oil if you like.

Anchovy fillets in olive oil

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