Spaghetti with anchovy sauce, walnut pesto and fried scabbardfish
- Starter
- Medium
- 6
- 60 minutes
PT1H
The anchovy here comes from 'colatura di alici' – a by-product of the salting and fermentation of anchovies. The intense flavour of this amber liquid is typical of the Amalfi coast and can often be found stirred through spaghetti or linguine. Here, Gennaro Esposito adds new flavour dimensions to the traditional Italian pasta dish with a walnut pesto and fried morsels of silver scabbardfish – a delicately-flavoured white fish.
Ingredients
Spaghetti
- 480g of spaghetti
- 30g of anchovy sauce, preferably 'colatura di alici'
- 2 sprigs of wild fennel , chopped
- 2 sprigs of parsley, chopped
- juice of half a lemon
- 3 tbsp of garlic, chopped
- 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Tomato sauce
- 12 cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 6 tomatoes , roughly chopped
Walnut pesto
- 35g of walnuts, toasted
- 20g of pine nuts , toasted
- 5g of pistachio nuts, toasted
- 20g of stale bread
- 10g of capers, chopped
- 5g of black olives, pitted
- 2 anchovy fillets
- 1/2 garlic clove
- 10g of extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Silver scabbardfish
- 200g of silver scabbardfish, cut into 3cm pieces
- 2 eggs
- 50g of Parmesan
- 100g of plain flour
- 250g of vegetable oil, for frying
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of pepper
To serve
- walnuts, very finely chopped or ground to a fine crumb
- wild fennel tops
Equipment
- Blender
- Muslin cloth
- Food processor
Method
1
Begin by making the tomato sauce – this can be made ahead of time and reserved until needed. Place both types of tomato in a blender and blitz together to a purée
- 12 cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 6 tomatoes , roughly chopped
2
Pour into a muslin cloth and pull the corners together to create a sack. Hold over a bowl and squeeze to release as much juice as possible – discard the pulp left in the cloth. Weigh out 70g of the tomato juice and set aside
3
Add the stale bread (for the pesto) to the bowl with the remaining tomato juice and allow to soak for 5–10 minutes to soften
- 20g of stale bread
4
To make the walnut pesto, place the walnuts, pine nuts, and pistachios in a food processor and blitz together until finely chopped. Squeeze out any excess tomato juice from the bread and add to the processor
- 35g of walnuts, toasted
- 20g of pine nuts , toasted
- 5g of pistachio nuts, toasted
5
Continue to blend while you pour in the olive oil, then add the capers, olives, anchovies and garlic and blend until thick and fairly smooth. Season with salt and pepper
- 10g of extra virgin olive oil
- 10g of capers, chopped
- 5g of black olives, pitted
- 2 anchovy fillets
- 1/2 garlic clove
- salt
- pepper
6
Weigh out 20g of the walnut pesto and add to a bowl with the reserved 70g of tomato juice – keep the rest of the pesto for serving. Add the anchovy sauce, chopped fennel and parsley sprigs, lemon juice, oil and garlic to the bowl and mix together. Season to taste and set aside
- 30g of anchovy sauce, preferably 'colatura di alici'
- 2 sprigs of wild fennel , chopped
- 2 sprigs of parsley, chopped
- juice of half a lemon
- 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp of garlic, chopped
- salt
- pepper
7
For the silver scabbardfish, crack the eggs into a shallow dish and whisk in the Parmesan, salt and pepper. Place the flour in another shallow dish, then roll the pieces of fish first in the flour to coat, then dip in the beaten eggs
8
Place the oil in a deep, heavy-based pan (or preheat a deep-fryer) and heat to 180°C. Fry the scabbardfish pieces in batches until crisp and golden then drain any excess oil on kitchen paper
- 250g of vegetable oil, for frying
9
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil over a medium heat, add the spaghetti and cook until just al dente
- 480g of spaghetti
10
Drain the spaghetti through a colander and add to the bowl with the tomato water, pesto and anchovy sauce mixture. Toss to coat the pasta in the anchovy sauce, then twist into nests to serve, drizzling any remaining sauce over the plates
11
Add a few pieces of the fried fish to each plate, along with a few quenelles of the reserved walnut pesto. Garnish with the fried scabbardfish, quenelles of walnut pesto and sprinkle over some of the finely chopped walnuts. Finish with a sprig of fennel to serve
- walnuts, very finely chopped or ground to a fine crumb
- wild fennel tops
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Spaghetti with anchovy sauce, walnut pesto and fried scabbardfish
