Linguine With Baby Heirloom Tomatoes And Anchovy Breadcrumbs Recipes

PASTA WITH BREAD CRUMBS AND ANCHOVIES, SICILIAN STYLE

Steps:

• Place olive oil and garlic in a heavy skillet and gently cook the garlic over medium heat until golden. Discard garlic. Add the red-pepper flakes and anchovies and mash to a puree with the back of a wooden spoon over very low heat, about one minute. Remove from heat. Do not allow oil to get very hot. Can be prepared in advance to this point.
• Cook the spaghettini in boiling, salted water until cooked al dente. While the pasta is cooking, transfer three tablespoons of the pasta cooking water to the anchovy-oil mixture in order to stretch the sauce; reheat carefully. Drain pasta, then transfer it to the skillet and toss with the hot sauce. Divide evenly on four heated dishes, sprinkle with parsley and serve at once. Pass the bread crumbs.

MIDNIGHT PASTA WITH ANCHOVIES, GARLIC AND TOMATO

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook, according to package directions, until about 2 minutes shy of al dente so the pasta can finish cooking in the sauce. It should still have a slight crunch in the center. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
• While the pasta is cooking, in a large skillet, combine the oil, garlic, anchovies (if using), red-pepper flakes and pinch of salt over low heat. Cook until garlic is opaque and a few of the slices are pale gold at the edges (don't let the garlic turn brown), 2 to 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook until it darkens, about 1 minute longer.
• Add the drained pasta, lemon zest and 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta water to skillet. Stir until the pasta is al dente and well coated with sauce. Add more pasta water, if needed, until the sauce is glossy and the pasta cooked to taste.
• Cut the zested lemon half in half (so you'll have a quarter of a lemon) and squeeze some juice into pasta. Stir in herbs and taste, adding more lemon juice and salt, if needed. Cut remaining lemon into wedges and serve it alongside the pasta, which should be garnished with more herbs and red-pepper flakes, a drizzle of oil and a generous sprinkle of cheese, if you like.

THE ULTIMATE LINGUINE WITH CLAM SAUCE

Steps:

• This sauce can be made with or without tomatoes. If you're using tomatoes in the sauce, score the skins on the bottom of the tomatoes with a large X, being careful not to cut deeper than the skin. Bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil, add the tomatoes and cook 1 minute then remove with slotted spoon or tongs, cool a minute or 2 until you can handle, then peel the skin and dice the tomato into small pieces.
• Place the clams, wine and clam juice in large pot and bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook 8 to 10 minutes to open the clam shells. Scoop out the clams and shuck them, place in food storage container and cool completely. Store the clams in the refrigerator until ready for use. Strain the stock and reserve, wipe out the pot and return to the heat.
• Meanwhile, make a seafood paste by adding the red onion, chile pepper, lemon zest, garlic, thyme, parsley, and bay leaves to the food processor and pulse-chop into a thick, but finely chopped, speckled paste.
• Heat about 1/4 cup olive oil, 4 turns of the pan, in the clam pot over medium to medium-high heat. Add the anchovy filets and melt them into the oil, 1 minute or so, then add the paste and stir 2 minutes. Add the reserved stock and stir to combine. Add the tomatoes, simmer 5 minutes, then cool the sauce completely and store for make-ahead meal.
• To serve, bring a large pot of water to boil for pasta. Salt water and cook pasta to al dente.
• Meanwhile, heat the sauce over medium heat. Once the pasta has been dropped to cook, stir the clams into the sauce and simmer a few minutes. Add a ladle of starchy cooking water to the sauce and toss with pasta 1 to 2 minutes for the flavors to combine and absorb into the pasta.