Recipes › Calabrese › Calabrese and Anchovy Pasta with Chilli Breadcrumbs
Calabrese and Anchovy Pasta with Chilli Breadcrumbs
A Southern Italian-style pasta where calabrese is cooked down until tender and saucy, absorbing the deep savouriness of anchovy and garlic. Toasted chilli breadcrumbs add crunch and heat in every forkful. This is weeknight food that tastes like you tried much harder than you did.
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Ingredients
- 600 g Calabrese, broken into small florets, stalks peeled and sliced
- 400 spaghettior use linguine
- 50 g anchovy fillets in oil, drained
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 80 g stale white bread, blitzed into rough crumbsor use panko breadcrumbs
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 40 g Parmesan, finely grated (optional)traditionalists skip this with anchovy; your call
- 15 g flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt
Contains: cereals gluten, fish, milk.
Method
- Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil. Add the calabrese florets and sliced stalks and cook for 4 minutes until just tender but not soft. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and set aside, keeping the water on the boil for the pasta.About 6 min
- Cook the spaghetti in the same boiling water according to packet instructions until al dente. Before draining, scoop out 200ml of the starchy pasta water and set aside.About 10 min
- While the pasta cooks, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and half the chilli flakes and toast, stirring frequently, for 3–4 minutes until golden and crisp. Tip onto a plate, stir in the lemon zest and a pinch of salt, and set aside.About 4 min
- Wipe out the frying pan, add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil and place over a medium-low heat. Add the anchovies, garlic and remaining chilli flakes. Cook gently for 2–3 minutes, pressing the anchovies with a wooden spoon until they melt into the oil.About 3 min
- Add the blanched calabrese to the anchovy pan. Use the back of a spoon to roughly crush about a third of the florets into the sauce. Pour in 100ml of the reserved pasta water and simmer for 2 minutes until the sauce is glossy and coats the back of a spoon.About 3 min
- Drain the pasta and add it directly to the calabrese pan. Toss vigorously over a medium heat for 1 minute, adding more pasta water a splash at a time until the sauce clings to every strand. Remove from heat, add the lemon juice and parsley and toss again.About 2 min
- Divide between four warm bowls. Scatter generously with the chilli breadcrumbs and Parmesan if using. Serve immediately.
Tips
- Don't skip crushing some of the calabrese — it's what creates the sauce that coats the pasta rather than just sitting alongside it.
- The pasta water is essential here; the starch is what makes everything emulsify. Have a ladleful ready when you add the pasta to the pan.
- Anchovies vary a lot in saltiness. Taste before adding any extra salt at the end.
Ring the changes
- For a vegetarian version, swap the anchovies for 2 tablespoons of capers and add an extra tablespoon of olive oil.
- Use orecchiette instead of spaghetti — the little cups catch the crushed calabrese beautifully.
Keeping it
Best eaten immediately. Leftovers keep in the fridge for 1 day; reheat in a pan with a splash of water. The breadcrumbs will soften on storage so keep them separate if making ahead.
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