Bigoli In Salsa

I love this pasta so much! It’s everything that draws me to Italian food; delicious, simple and quick to make! I have just come back from Venice and you can really feel the style of their food. Many dishes have a little grubby-feel to them with lots of squid ink pasta and anchovies which makes for extremely tasty plates of food. This Bigoli is no different and is a classic Venetian dish. For extra speed I used a mandolin to slice the onion finely and this means it will cook faster.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

3 red onions, thinly sliced

1 banana shallots, thinly sliced

1 small garlic clove, diced

11 anchovy fillets in olive oil, roughly chopped

6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp finely chopped parsley for garnish

170g spaghetti/bucatini pasta

sea salt

black pepper

Bring a saucepan of salted water to a rolling boil and add the pasta to cook to al dente which is usually around 9-10 minutes.

While this cooks, place a large saucepan to a medium to high heat and add the olive oil to warm followed by the sliced onions. Fry the onions for about 6 minutes mixing all the time until the start to reduce and caramelise. Then add the anchovies and cook for another 2 minutes or until they have melted down a bit into the sauce which should dissolve any tiny bones. Next, add in the diced garlic and fry for another 1-2 minutes before adding in about 150-200ml of the starchy pasta cooking water to loosen the sauce. Add pepper and a little salt (as anchovies will be salty) and taste to check the seasoning. The pasta should now be ready to drain and then toss through the sauce. Mix well so that the pasta is evenly coated. Serve straight away with a little extra olive oil and sprinkle of chopped parsley.