Pasta with Anchovies and Olives

This briny, garlicky, umami-packed flavour bomb of a dish is my frequent go-to for a quick, tasty and nutritious meal. The key here is that you want to really coax the flavours together, so keep the heat on low while you're cooking the garlic, anchovies, and olives in the olive oil. When I make it, the oil is on so low that it barely bubbles. Once or twice I've tried to speed up the process, only to burn the garlic, which ruins the entire dish. So, low and slow. My family likes garlic (like, a LOT of garlic), but the amounts vary in the recipe below so that you can choose your personal level of garlicky-ness. Same goes for the anchovies. We'll dump an entire tin of them with their oil, but if that makes you uncomfortable, start with two fillets.

Pasta:
1 lb pasta (400 g)
4 Tbsp. sea salt

Sauce:
3-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (12 oz) can black olives, cut in half crosswise
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 (2 oz) can anchovy fillets in oil
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Garnish:
Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat.

Meanwhile, finely chop 3-6 garlic cloves. Drain, but retain oil, of a 12 oz can black olives, then cut each olive in half crosswise.

Heat ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil in a small saucepan over low heat for a few minutes. Add the garlic and a pinch red pepper flakes and cook, stirring often, until the garlic starts to soften, 7-10 minutes.

Add 1 lb dried spaghetti to the boiling water and cook according to package directions.

Meanwhile, add the fillets from a (2 oz) tin anchovy fillets in oil and some of their oil to the garlic mixture, stir to break the fillets up so they eventually melt into the oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the olives cook for 5 minutes more to warm through.

When the spaghetti is ready, drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water and return it to the pot. Pour in the olive oil mixture and use tongs to thoroughly toss and incorporate the flavours. Add some pasta water 1 Tbsp. at a time, if necessary. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Sprinkle some freshly shaved Parmesan, if desired. Serve warm.

Makes 4 servings.