Pasta with Garlic, Anchovy, and Basil, for the banchan spread

Short pasta tossed in garlic, anchovy, and fresh basil. Cook the pasta first, because the sauce is ready in 2 minutes. Steady summer dish!

Fresh basil herbs smells like summer to us. We grow a few herb pots this summer and these basil grow so fast that we can hardly catch up with them. Here we made a pasta dish with garlic, anchovy, and basil.

Loads of fresh basil leaves are added in our pasta. They bring the summer fragrance into the dish that we love. The pungent and salty anchovies are must to bring the flavor in the pasta, so do not skip.

This unfussy pasta is short to make. The garlic, anchovy, and basil sauce is ready in 2 minutes so start with cooking pasta first. If you have 15 minutes of cooking pasta, you can have this scrumptious pasta dish ready by then.

Pasta with Garlic, Anchovy, and Basil

Cook’s Note

• Use any type of pasta you want. We used fettuccine for ours but any pasta will work.
• Use good quality anchovies. There are only 5 ingredients in the pasta recipe. Which means the quality of each ingredients make the difference in outcome.
• If you want to add a little heat, add some red chili flakes.
• You must use fresh basil. Dried basil yields completely different fragrance and you won’t get the same result.
• Don’t be shy on cheese. We used Parmesan cheese. Romano cheese would be good as well.

Recipe Instructions

You will need to cook the pasta first. Cook according to the package instruction. Make sure to add some salt in the water when you boil.

Stack the basil leaves and julienne them.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, anchovy, and red pepper flakes (if using) and cook until the anchovy dissolves.

Add the cooked pasta and the basil and toss well.

Sprinkle lots of Parmesan cheese and toss well. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. Serve immediately.

• Yield: 2 people
• Prep: 5 minutes
• Cook: 10 minutes
• Total: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 8 oz pasta
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 pieces anchovies, packed in olive oil
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 1 cup fresh basil, julienned
• 4-6 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• more olive oil, to taste

Method

1. Bring a pot of water to bring. Add the salt and pasta. Cook the pasta according to the package direction.
2. When the pasta is about to finish, heat olive oil in a skillet and add the garlic, anchovies, and chili flakes (if using) and cook until the anchovies dissolves, about 1 minute.
3. Add the cooked pasta and the basil to the skillet and toss. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Drizzle more olive oil if needed. Serve immediately.