Fast Tomato Sauce With Anchovies

Name: Fast Tomato Sauce With Anchovies
Total time: 30 min
Yield: enough for 1 pound of pasta, about 4 servings
Cuisine: italian
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 1 teaspoon minced garlic; 4 to 6 anchovy fillets, with some of their oil; 1 28-ounce can tomatoes, crushed or chopped and drained of their juice; Salt and fresh-ground black pepper

By Mark Bittman

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 5(757)
Comments: Read comments

Despite their reputation, anchovies are not overpowering, at least once cooked. Used with garlic as the start of a fast pasta sauce, they dissolve almost instantly and add a mysteriously meaty complexity that makes the sauce seem as if it had simmered for hours. Tossed with linguine and arugula, they make a simple dish sophisticated. If you're feeding a crowd, it doubles or triples beautifully.

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Ingredients

Yield:enough for 1 pound of pasta, about 4 servings

2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1teaspoon minced garlic
4 to 6anchovy fillets, with some of their oil
128-ounce can tomatoes, crushed or chopped and drained of their juice
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Put the olive oil in a deep skillet, and turn the heat to medium. A minute later, add the garlic and the anchovies, and stir. When the garlic sizzles and the anchovies break up, add the tomatoes.
Step 2
Turn heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture becomes saucy, about 15 minutes. Season to taste, and serve with spaghetti or other long pasta. Grated pecorino Romano cheese goes well with this sauce.

Ratings

5 out of 5

757 user ratings

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Comments

Jim7 years ago

Mine's even faster: entire can of anchovies and the oil, dump it all in pan with garlic and crushed red pepper flakes to start.

Julie Taylor7 years ago

This is a fabulous recipe. When it first came out, the NYT suggested MORE anchovies! -- for a 12 oz can of tomatoes (or a BIG tomato I put 8 or 10! But 4 or 6 is fine. Plus 4 or 5 cloves garlic, just cut in 1/2s. Brown them, then add anchovies which explode, and when the latter come apart the tomatoes. And some Italian hot pepper.

Chella7 years ago

Great recipe. For a quick meal, I used store-bought cooked fresh tortellini, tossed with sauteed green peppers, onions, and mushrooms, and baby bocconcini - plus this sauce - covered with grated pecorino. Fabulous when baked 25 minutes. The sauce really made it. That, and the sauteed vegetables, can be prepared separately, while tortellini boils. The whole dish is very fast and easy ...the addition of this sauce makes it truly impressive. A keeper for sure.

Grace7 months ago

Add some unsalted butter at the end…..adds a richness to the sauce.

CarolB10 months ago

Delicious easy sauce! Doubled nicely. Sautteed 6 cloves thinly sliced garlic before adding tin of anchovies. Added canned chopped tomatoes with juice,greek oregano,freshly ground pepper & omitted salt. Used in meat mixture for stuffed peppers, topped with more sauce. It was wonderful!

kevin1 year ago

A note for all recipes that use anchovies, youre kitchen will smell like fish and some bites will taste like fish. I’m not sure where the myth of tasteless anchovies comes from.

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