Spaghetti with sad salad leaves, chilli, anchovy and garlic

This is quick midweek meal is a great way to use up those wilting salad leaves hiding at the back of the fridge.

Spaghetti with sad salad leaves, chilli, anchovy and garlic. Credit: Bloomsbury Publishing / Sam A Harris

• serves

  2

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 200 g dried spaghetti
• A splash (about 25ml) of extra virgin olive oil
• 4 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 small dried red chilli, crumbled, or ½ tsp crushed dried chilli (or more if you like heat)
• 6 good-quality plump anchovy fillets (salted or in oil), rinsed of salt or drained of oil
• Juice of ¼ lemon
• 25 g unsalted butter
• 100–120 g bag mixed salad leaves (past their best but not off!) (See Note)
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Parmesan, finely grated, to finish (optional)

Instructions

1. For the pasta, in a large cooking pot, bring 3–4 litres water to the boil and add a small fistful of salt (see Note).
2. Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan large enough to easily hold the sauce and cooked pasta. Add the garlic and chilli and fry over a medium heat until the garlic just starts to colour. Turn the heat down, add the anchovies and stir until they have melted then take the pan off the heat and add a small splash of water to stop the cooking.
3. At the same time, drop the spaghetti into the boiling water and follow the packet directions for timing but take 2 minutes off the recommended cooking time (so if the packet says 9 minutes, give it 7 minutes).
4. Drain the pasta as soon as it’s ready, keeping two mugs of pasta water.
5. Transfer the pasta to the garlic and anchovy pan and add half a mug (about 120ml) of pasta water. Place the pan over a medium heat and add the lemon juice, butter, salad leaves and a pinch of pepper. Stir continuously for a minute to reduce the liquid and bring the sauce together. The oil and water will emulsify and thicken to form a viscous sauce that is still loose enough for the strands of pasta to slide freely over one another. If the sauce gets too dry, add splashes of the reserved pasta water to loosen, while stirring.
6. Stop as soon as you hit the sweet spot, and the pasta is al dente (firm to bite but easy to chew). Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding salt and/or pepper if required.
7. Serve on hot plates. I’d recommend tasting before you add Parmesan because you might decide against it. Eat immediately.

Notes

• This sounds like a lot of salt but only a fraction is absorbed into the pasta – and correctly seasoned water will make a big difference to the final plate of pasta.
• I don’t know about you but too often in my house we seem to have salad leaves that have started to wilt and end up in the compost bin. One day I came across a bag of mixed rocket and watercress hiding at the back of my fridge that was starting to look a bit sad. Rather than throwing it away, I thought about folding it into garlic, chilli, anchovy and really good olive oil. It turns out sad leaves can be revived. For a quick midweek meal this is perfect, and you’ll still get nutrients from the salad. The recipe is vague; any salad leaves can be deployed – it’s more about using up whatever you’ve got.

This recipe is an edited extract from Padella by Tim Siadatan (Bloomsbury Publishing, $49.99)

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.