Friday, October 5, 2012

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 (^^)...


9 comments:

Mel said...

I rarely cook pasta at home but looking at your delicious pasta has made me wanted to cook it one day! Wow, I guess since you have highlighted the word SUPER-LICIOUS, I should not make anymore excuses already!

pudgy butterfly said...

i don't do pasta either, mel.. it's only for my fatty and piggies' sake that i cook the "rare" pasta ^^|| and this pasta is different.. in a good and special way ^^ even though i barely had a bite, i know they were exceptional because my piggies LOVES this! and they want MORE! so i'll be making this again real soon ^^

Lynna said...

OH WOW...this looks so delicious! i`m jealous of big pig! haha~

Lynna said...

My eyes jumped out of my eye sockets when I saw the title of this. I was like, brown butter? YUM. Apple? YUM. AND CARAMEL TOO?! *dies*

I`m so glad you were inspired to make these delicious cakes! I am saving the recipe to make some, because I am drooling looking at your pictures! >_<

pudgy butterfly said...

my piggies are really lucky boys! they have an aunt who LOVES to eat! and loves them equally as much! ^^

your straightforward and usually no-frills bake inspire me a lot, lynna ^^ you tempt me all the time with your delicious, drool-worthy bakes especially the caramel apple donuts which got me craving for this! (^^)

Nami | Just One Cookbook said...

I cook simple pasta with anchovies + onion + tomatoes, but haven't tried with sun dried tomatoes or Parmesan. This is am must try recipe for me soon! I love pasta that's easy and delicious!!

pudgy butterfly said...

now i know what we've been missing out all this while! i'd love to try your way with anchovies. do share the recipe, nami! (^^)

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pudgy butterfly said...

dear anonymous, thank you.. ^^