Spaghetti alle alici e noci

Spaghetti alle alici e noci
Spaghetti with anchovies and walnuts

In my family, we maintain the tradition of Chirstmas Eve being a day of 'fasting', which is to say, we do not eat any animal products. Fish is, of course, the focus of the Italian Christmas Eve feast and for us, one of the dishes which has been on the table almost every year for this holiday is spaghetti with anchovies and garlic and, optionally, also with walnuts. If properly made, with balance and restraint, it is an extremely delicious first course.

Ingredients for two:
- 200 grams spaghetti (medium to thick; quality counts)
- garlic (one small or medium clove)
- black pepper, coarsely ground (or whole peppercorns, crushed)
- crushed red pepper
- small handful of walnuts, crushed but not too finely
- three salted anchovies, cleaned and washed
- parsley, minced
- olive oil (high quality), some for cooking, some for finishing

I prefer the dish in the variant with walnuts and use alongside the generous amount of black pepper always present in the dish at my grandparents' and parents' house a bit of red pepper; specifically, I like for this dish chile pequin, which I grind together with whole black peppercorns, using mortar and pestle. In my version of the dish, the peppers are prominent but the overall piquancy is not that great; the pequins I have just now are not fiercely hot but they are very nicely flavourful.

Here are the main ingredients after the black peppercorns and small chiles have been crushed, the walnuts smashed a bit, the parsley minced and the anchovies washed and cleaned and roughly torn in pieces:

Once the spaghetti has been put into the boiling water to cook, fry the garlic gently in olive oil; before the garlic darkens, add the anchovies, walnuts and black and red pepper, along with a little of the parsley:

The mixture needs to cook just a couple of minutes, during which time the anchovies will break down into smaller pieces; be sure the heat is not too high, lest the condiment burn. Once the pasta is done (for me, very al dente), drain it (saving a cup of water), add it to the pan with the condiment and toss for a minute. Add a little of the cooking water if the pasta seems too dry. Finishing the pasta in the pan with the condiment will not only harmonise the two elements in terms of flavour but it will also give the spaghetti a chance to take on a pleasing bit of colour from the walnuts.

With the heat off, add the minced parsley and, optionally, a splash or two of excellent olive oil.

Clearly, one can adjust upward or downward the relative amounts of garlic and anchovy and walnut in this dish but always within reasonable limits. In this regard, I would be especially careful about any significant increase in the garlic; too much garlic -- here as in most Italian recipes -- destroys the dish. More anchovies make the dish saltier and so a further adjustment needs to be made in how heavily the cooking water for the spaghetti is salted.


Though I really love the version of spaghetti alle alici with walnuts, I also love it without the nuts. Without the nuts, I use a little more anchovy and I also like to use for the spice-element a peperoncino that has some kick to it; the dried hot red chile is just fried gently in the oil a bit before the garlic goes in.

Grated cheese is not served with this dish in my family, even when we eat it on a non-fast day.

Bon prô,
Antonius

Links to other recipes and cooking notes by this writer: viewtopic.php?p=55649#55649

Antonius,

Looks delicious, thank you for the tutorial. Spaghetti alle alici e noci will be gracing my dinner table in the near future.

Enjoy,
Gary

I'm not getting the pix, unfortunately--am I doing something wrong? (And Merry Christmas Antonius, to you and yours!)

Geo

Gary -- You're welcome/Thanks! Do try it. It's one of my very favourite simple pasta recipes.

____

Geo wrote:I'm not getting the pix, unfortunately--am I doing something wrong? (And Merry Christmas Antonius, to you and yours!)

Geo -- No idea what the problem could be... the pictures have been handled as I always handle them and I've seen them on my Apple and also on a Windows netbook...

(And a very Merry Christmas to you and yours as well!)

A

Got 'em now, Antonius! I must have been doing something wrong...

Geo

As the collection of Antonius's dishes multiplies (and my desire to replicate--or at least taste--them becomes overwhelming) I ask him only one thing: when ya gonna quit yer day job and open a restaurant? You and Bridgestone, I'll tell ya. I could become a regular at both places so easy.


(Wouldn't Lucantonius like a somewhat (ahem) older brother?)

Gypsy Boy wrote:As the collection of Antonius's dishes multiplies (and my desire to replicate--or at least taste--them becomes overwhelming) I ask him only one thing: when ya gonna quit yer day job and open a restaurant? You and Bridgestone, I'll tell ya. I could become a regular at both places so easy.


(Wouldn't Lucantonius like a somewhat (ahem) older brother?)

Ragazzo Zingaro -- Sei tropo gentile! Mille grazie!


A large family is a great aid in running a small restaurant, so we should perhaps consider adoption...


A

A fantastic looking recipe, and I'm glad to say we have all the ingredients for making it in my kitchen right now.

You mention adding pasta to the condiment in the pan. I believe this is the way it's done in many mid-level-and-above Italian restaurants in the US, though in Italy I have had the condiment (or sauce) simply ladled on the plate of pasta. At home, I've just started following your technique of adding the noodle to a pan of the sauce and lightly tossing to warm all together. I feel the sauce penetrates the noodle more completely that way, and I like it that everything is at the same temperature when served.

Antonius,
This has been on my mind since reading your post the first time. When I think of Sicily and nuts, I think almonds. For better or worse, rightly or wrongly...almonds. Not walnuts. Am I wrong? I simply don't associate walnuts with Sicily and, though many of my Sicilian cookbooks are packed, the ones that aren't--especially the dessert ones--seem to bear me out.

Not that this doesn't sound scrumptious. It just sounds...not quite as Sicilian. I suspect I'm just wrong, but I'd be grateful for some elucidation.

Many thanks,

GB

Gypsy Boy wrote:Antonius,
This has been on my mind since reading your post the first time. When I think of Sicily and nuts, I think almonds. For better or worse, rightly or wrongly...almonds. Not walnuts. Am I wrong? I simply don't associate walnuts with Sicily and, though many of my Sicilian cookbooks are packed, the ones that aren't--especially the dessert ones--seem to bear me out.

Not that this doesn't sound scrumptious. It just sounds...not quite as Sicilian. I suspect I'm just wrong, but I'd be grateful for some elucidation.

Many thanks,

GB

Our family vigil, celebrated with the festa dei sette pesci, has both Sicilian and Calabrese influences, but falls into the latter camp on the spaghetti. We make the exact dish described by Antonius, but with the precise substitution of old breadcrumbs for nuts. This may be a poor thing more than a mainland thing, though when I've seen the dish in the Sicilian households, we're back to walnuts.

In households from both places, the Chicago shorthand is "fishpasta," as in, "Flossie, is there more oil for the fishpasta? Otherwise I'll just get it from the baccala pan." Our other fishes are calamari, smelts, and shrimp; we don't quite get to seven these days (seven helpings, though, sure). Just had this for Christmas Eve, and it will be on the menu again for New Year's. Buon natale, amici!

Looks great, thanks!
dan

Gypsy Boy -

Indeed. This dish isn't Sicilian. And you're right that almonds are more generally thought of as being an integral part of Sicilian cuisine than walnuts, since they appear in a number of especially distinctive and famous dishes from the island (though there are some local pasta recipes from parts of Sicily in which walnuts are employed). And walnuts in savoury dishes are indeed more often thought of in conjunction with the cuisines of some other regions or subregions of Italy.

The particular recipe about which I've posted here is from Campania, and it is from there -- both the north and the south of the region (as well as southern Lazio) that my family hails. The variant of spaghetti alle alici with walnuts is associated in particular with the southern province of Campania, provincia di Salerno, the dish being especially (but by no means exclusively) popular in places such as Amalfi and Sorrento, the one famous for its anchovies, the other for its walnuts.

So your suspicions of its un-Sicilian-ness were indeed correct. I take it you thought I was SIcilian and hence the dish was, as I said it was traditional for my family on Christmas Eve? Our core traditions are all Campanian (or Groß-Campanian), but, as you know, I very much love Sicilian food, dialect(s), history, literature...

Buon anno!
A

Antonius wrote:So your suspicions of its un-Sicilian-ness were indeed correct. I take it you thought I was SIcilian and hence the dish was, as I said it was traditional for my family on Christmas Eve? Our core traditions are all Campanian (or Groß-Campanian), but, as you know, I very much love Sicilian food, dialect(s), history, literature...

Correct in part. I suspected the dish was Sicilian because I know of your fondness for things Sicilian. However, although I don't think I knew the particular place, I somehow think I knew that it wasn't Sicilian. Simply put, I assumed (without bothering to think) that the recipe was Sicilian, hence my unwarranted confusion.

And a gut yor to you and the mispocheh!

Gypsy Boy wrote:

Antonius wrote:So your suspicions of its un-Sicilian-ness were indeed correct. I take it you thought I was SIcilian and hence the dish was, as I said it was traditional for my family on Christmas Eve? Our core traditions are all Campanian (or Groß-Campanian), but, as you know, I very much love Sicilian food, dialect(s), history, literature...

Correct in part. I suspected the dish was Sicilian because I know of your fondness for things Sicilian. However, although I don't think I knew the particular place, I somehow think I knew that it wasn't Sicilian. Simply put, I assumed (without bothering to think) that the recipe was Sicilian, hence my unwarranted confusion.

And a gut yor to you and the mispocheh!

Had it again last night with the breadcrumbs (yum). Again, I've never seen any kind of nuts other than walnuts, and that's on the Sicilian side, and from the comments of Antonius it looks like this dish is prevalent in immigrant households from many related regions. Interestingly, I've never seen this dish on a menu in Italy, but I've also never been in Italy over the holidays.

Some additional data:

A 1985 NYT article and recipe about the breadcrumb variant in Syracuse, Sicily

Spaghetti con Acciughe e Mollica

A southern Tuscan type with handrolled noodles, almost identical to the above, called pici con le briciole, which is closest to how we call the dish in Italian

Santander wrote:Again, I've never seen any kind of nuts other than walnuts, and that's on the Sicilian side...

Santander - I have not seen this particular recipe in a Sicilian context and the Sicilian pasta recipes I have seen with walnuts -- so far as I can recall -- are not variations on the spaghetti with anchovies family of recipes. That said, it would not surprise me if in some part(s) of Sicily there exists such a preparation.

... and from the comments of Antonius it looks like this dish is prevalent in immigrant households from many related regions. Interestingly, I've never seen this dish on a menu in Italy.

Are you referring to spaghetti with anchovies in general or spaghetti with anchovies and walnuts? If the latter, I'm not sure what it is I wrote above that gave the impression that " this dish is prevalent in immigrant households from many related regions" -- I think the opposite implication is there -- that the dish is associated with (parts of) the provincia di Salerno, though others know of it and different takes on it can be seen here and there across the region of Campania and beyond.

On the other hand, if you were referring in general to spaghetti with anchovies (and perhaps another ingredient), then yes, I suspect there are a fair number of families from the various parts of Italy where one version or another is popular that -- like my family and yours -- kept the dish alive. But I must add too that this dish is precisely the sort of preparation that strikes me as having been lost very quickly in all the more Americanised families. Not surprising, given the sort of horror with which most Americans have regarded the anchovy... at least until the new age of foodie interest in these kinds of products and dishes.

Antonius

My sister-in-law's family has an old recipe for pasta with anchovies, peas, and parmesan. They're Italian, and IIRC, from someplace in the North. It's awfully tasty. Couldn't vouch for its authenticity, but they swear by it.

Geo

Antonius wrote:On the other hand, if you were referring in general to spaghetti with anchovies (and perhaps another ingredient), then yes, I suspect there are a fair number of families from the various parts of Italy where one version or another is popular that -- like my family and yours -- kept the dish alive. But I must add too that this dish is precisely the sort of preparation that strikes me as having been lost very quickly in all the more Americanised families. Not surprising, given the sort of horror with which most Americans have regarded the anchovy... at least until the new age of foodie interest in these kinds of products and dishes.

Aye, in general, but with the added bonus of the fact we both consider it a Christmas dish (or at least a dish consumed with some special gusto during the holidays), and the only varying ingredient being nuts vs. breadcrumbs, both of which I've seen in my Calabrese-Sicilian extended family. I know there is a kaleidoscope of pasta with anchovy dishes, but these particular combinations are somewhat special in my heart; I was excited to see the original post. Uova in purgatorio for us tomorrow.

Geo wrote:My sister-in-law's family has an old recipe for pasta with anchovies, peas, and parmesan. They're Italian, and IIRC, from someplace in the North. It's awfully tasty. Couldn't vouch for its authenticity, but they swear by it.

Geo

Hey Geo... Do you know relatively how much anchovy is used? That is, are the anchovies the main element of the condiment or a 'co-star' with the peas? Anchovies are used a lot as background but I reckon you mean this recipe is one where they figure very prominently as a main ingredient... Be that as it may, sounds like it would be a great dish...

Happy New Year!

A

And a Happy New Year to you, too, Antonius (and all you other LTHers out there), from a snowy Montréal—where I arrived night before last to begin my Northern Season (classes start *Monday*, if you can believe it!).

The anchovies play a starring role in the dish, Antonius. It was always a test of suitability in their family to see which visitor (or prospect, in my brother's case!), appreciated the little fishes. He passed, and so did I, in turn. It's a very tasty dish.

Geo

I made this dish on Saturday and greatly enjoyed it. I found the flavors a wonderful, subtle, accompaniment to the pasta, which my son noted was the reason they won't likely be adding this to the menu at the Olive Garden. Hopefully I didn't offend the nation of Italy by using whole wheat pasta. Over the past couple of years, I've pretty much converted, and I found that this dish was perfect with the nutty flavor of whole wheat pasta. When I make this again, the only adjustment I might make is to add more walnuts, but then my wife and I are pretty much nut fanatics.

Thanks for the recipe,
Jonah

Jonah wrote:I made this dish on Saturday and greatly enjoyed it. I found the flavors a wonderful, subtle, accompaniment to the pasta, which my son noted was the reason they won't likely be adding this to the menu at the Olive Garden. Hopefully I didn't offend the nation of Italy by using whole wheat pasta. Over the past couple of years, I've pretty much converted, and I found that this dish was perfect with the nutty flavor of whole wheat pasta. When I make this again, the only adjustment I might make is to add more walnuts, but then my wife and I are pretty much nut fanatics.
Thanks for the recipe...

Jonah -- You're most welcome! I'm really glad you tried the dish and liked it so much.

Regarding the use of whole wheat pasta, I too eat a fair amount of it, though a bit less than I was for a while -- I make home-made whole-pasta even. The flavour is wonderful but it is prominent and the texture different from that of regular durum wheat pasta, so I've found that I like some combinations of certain whole wheat shapes with certain condiments more than others. In this case, though, I think whole wheat spaghetti would work really well.

A

All I can say is WOW. I made this and it was so good I did another batch again the next day. I am lucky enough to live close to The Pasta Shop on Harlem and this with their Spaghetti. Well making something that tastes as good as this and is so simple to make I really want you to know how much I appreciate you sharing it with us.

Funny this thread should pop up - I found a recipe on tastespotting that I decided to hybridize in this direction - basically, you boil the pasta in salted red wine instead of water - I happened to have forgotten some wine on the counter for a day or two, nothing wrong with it but it wasn't especially drinkable so I gave it a try. I didn't get the blood-red pasta shown in the picture, but it made a nice contrast with the nuts (I used pignoli in this instance.) There was only a slight winy flavor to the pasta, very pleasant (partly because I added some water to make up the liquid I needed - maybe pure wine would be different. I think you really need fresh pasta for this recipe.)

2146 north wrote:All I can say is WOW. I made this and it was so good I did another batch again the next day. I am lucky enough to live close to The Pasta Shop on Harlem and this with their Spaghetti. Well making something that tastes as good as this and is so simple to make I really want you to know how much I appreciate you sharing it with us.

north -- I'm delighted to hear that you tried this dish and liked it so much. To me, this sort of preparation is really the heart and soul of genuine Italian cookery in so many ways. Many thanks for posting!

A