If you want a taste of Italy, try these tortiglioni with anchovies, radishes and tomatoes. Don’t shun the thought of anchovies just yet! This salty ingredient is the secret ingredient in this mouthwatering sauce.
Believe it or not, anchovies are making a come back in the States. Chefs are showcasing this intense flavored fish in a variety of sophisticated dishes like Chef Michael Symon’s dish for roasted brussel sprouts with capers, walnuts and anchovies or chefs Mario Batali and Dave Pasternack’s anchovy and roasted pepper salad with goat cheese.
Although anchovies might not be the first ingredient that comes to mind, definitely don’t exclude them. Anchovies are extremely versatile and can be used in a variety of ways, whether they are fresh or salt-cured in olive oil. You can melt them down with butter or olive oil in a skillet and spread the flavorful sauce onto a piece of toasted artisan bread then top with stracciatella cheese for a quick bruschetta. Or, how about marinated anchovies, which are a typical Italian recipe proliferate in restaurants along the Mediterranean Sea?
If you want a real taste of Italy, cook with anchovies. Their savoriness adds an irreplaceable bold flavor to dishes that are unlike others. My challenge to you: sneak them in various sauces, soups and salads and observe for yourself if anyone can spot that flavor, or if they just tell you that your dish is delicious.
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ large white onion, thinly sliced
- 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
- 7 radishes, thinly sliced
- 20 datterini tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes), cut in half
- 5 anchovies in oil, cut into pieces
- 1 fresh sage leaf, torn in pieces
- 1 chive stem, torn in pieces
- 250g Tortiglioni pasta (or fusilli, penne, or macaroni ecc.)
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt
- Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, as needed
- Put the extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet and cook the onions and garlic over medium heat until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the radishes, tomatoes, anchovies, sage and chives and continue to cook until the tomatoes are soft, about 5-10 minutes.
- In the meantime, bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil, add the coarse salt and cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain and return to pot. Pour in the sauce and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and stir until the cheese has melted. Delicious served both warm and cold.
It looks so yummy!
Thank you, Paola! Radishes aren’t the first thing you think of for a sauce, but it sure was delicious. I will definitely be experimenting with radishes more often. How do you usually use them in your cooking? Raw? Cooked? etc.
I love the idea of sage and chives in this sauce! Yum! I’m making your cranberry bean recipe this week…I’ll keep you posted since I have to use dry beans!
Hi Meri! My apologies for the slow reply! How did the cranberry bean recipe with dry beans turn out? I’m so curious!
You are welcome Cindy! I usually eat them raw because they are very rich in water and if you cook them they loose their taste.
First off…the aroma of those beans cooking was AMAZING! My kids kept asking me what that yummy smell was. The dry beans fell apart a bit. The outer part of the beans came off and were left floating. Other than that the taste was very good! I imagine the texture would have been perfect with the fresh beans. Now if I can only find them fresh here in California!
I agree, I love making this recipe just to have that lovely aroma in the house! Bummer that dry beans don’t work as well and fall apart. When I used frozen cranberry beans I pretty much got the same results as the dry beans…they fell apart as well. The last time that happened I had a guest coming over and since the appearance wasn’t the best, I blended the bean mixture and made cranberry bean patties, heated them in a skillet and served them on a salad with a dollop of Greek yogurt. They tasted amazing and looked a lot better. I’ve also used this recipe (without the beans) as a pasta sauce. There are so many cranberry beans in the market right now, I wish I could send them over to you! Cranberry beans for cilantro–we could make a trade!