Colatura di Alici

This looks like a simple bowl of spaghetti with garlic and olive oil doesn't it? This one is a little different though, because it has a wonderful added ingredient - colatura di alici. Colatura di alici is what you might call 'liquid essence of anchovy'. It is a fish sauce made using an ancient process dating back to the days of the Roman Empire. The Romans called it garum and it was used as a seasoning in most things they ate. Fresh caught anchovies are cured with salt inside barrels for forty days. The liquid is then strained off and aged again in wooden barrels for upwards of a year, then bottled. This amazing liquid is used to dress pasta, salads, fish, roast chicken, cooked vegetables. As you might expect, it is quite salty and has a strong aroma that thankfully - almost magically - changes when added to food to give it an exotic richness. A little goes a long way. You can order colatura online from Italian specialty food sites or from Amazon. Don't be afraid of it!

Here is a video showing the method I wanted to use as a guide but made a few adjustments. See my notes below using less colatura and adding a little lemon juice and lemon zest and sauteing the garlic.

Ingredients:

1 pound linguine or spaghetti

1+ teaspoon  colatura 

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice and zest from 1 lemon

2 cloves of garlic sliced very thin

Crushed red chili pepper flakes, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

1/2 cup minced fresh flat leaf parsley
Toasted plain breadcrumbs

In a frying pan with medium heat saute the garlic in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil for 2 - 3 minutes, just enough to take the edge off.

Cook pasta in UNSALTED boiling water according to package directions until al dente.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine colatura, lemon juice, garlic, chili pepper and black pepper. Add a little cold water and whisk vigorously to emulsify.

Drain pasta, and add it to bowl, tossing well.

Drizzle in a little more olive oil and more parsley, toss to combine, and taste. Then say Wow!

Sprinkle with toasted breadcrumbs but DO NOT TOP WITH GRATED CHEESE

Serve warm or at room temperature.