A special pasta for my special Big ^^

I can't say I'm a big fan of pasta.. any kind for that matter.. I like it ok ^^

But big pig is. And to celebrate his upcoming 16th birthday in 3 days time, I've decided to give him a 3-day food treat! (^^)

This is a recipe I picked up from the little teochew last month, bookmarked for special days like this ^^.

Pasta with anchovy sauce (recipe from the little teochew, original from bread et butter)
~ serves 2-3 (maybe not..)

1 LARGE yellow onion
3-5 cloves garlic
30g anchovies (actual weight), chopped or minced finely (discard oil/liquid)
5 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
2 whole cloves (I omitted this as I didn't have any ^^||)
1 tbsp water
pepper, to taste (optional)
grated parmesan & chili pepper/powder, to season (optional)
chopped parsley, to serve (optional)
2-3 sun-dried tomatoes, sliced (optional)
250-300g pasta of own preference

1. Finely chop the onions, garlic and anchovies. If you like a smoother paste/sauce, process onions and garlic till fine. (I just minced mine ~ no way am I washing more items than necessary! ^^)

2. Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan over LOW heat. Add onions, garlic and anchovies and cook till fragrant, around 8-10 minutes.

3. Mix in 1-tsp of sugar to sauce, cook for a minute, then taste. If mixture is still too salty, add another tsp of sugar. (I didn't like the taste with just 1 tsp sugar.. so I added the extra tsp.. which tasted about right ^^)

4. Stir in butter and cloves (it's ok, if you don't have it ^^), then water. Let it simmer for a minute or so, and remove from heat.

5. Serve cooked pasta with anchovy sauce, mix thoroughly. Season with pepper, grated parmesan, chili flakes and garnish with chopped parsley or anything you like. Ju of the little teochew suggested adding sun-dried tomatoes ~ and they are absolutely gorgeous with this pasta!

This really is a super easy, fast and simple SUPER-LICIOUS pasta! Big LOVES it!!! So did baby! which was unexpected ~ he's a bit like me, not exactly a pasta-fan.. and definitely not anything briny nor fishy! He had seconds.. just so you know how good this is ^^! Mama pig likes too ^^

Oh yes, please make more if you are cooking for more than 2 persons.. this recipe barely feeds 3 (^^||).. this is from an *oink! oink!* point of view (that's me! 'cos I barely got a bite ^^||) ^^ Thank you so much, su-yin and ju for sharing! (^^)

p.s. i just realized that this is a relatively inexpensive dish (that sounds and taste pricey at restaurants!) and way too easy to make at home (^^)...