The deeply Roman combo of anchovies and butter shows up at natural wine bars across the city, slathered on toast and washed down with skin-contact, Malvasia or Passerina. But it really reaches the next level when melted to coat spaghettoni, thick-cut pasta that holds on to every glossy drop. There’s no cheese, no herbs, no showing off—just the savory depth of good anchovies (get the Cantabrian ones in olive oil, or gently rinse salted anchovies) and butter doing what they do best.

4 ingredients

Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 15 mins

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Spaghettoni Burro e Alici

SPAGHETTONI
WITH BUTTER
AND SALTED
ANCHOVIES
RecipeCard image

Ingredients (4)

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat. Add salt until the water tastes like a seasoned soup.

  2. Add the spaghettoni (1 lb) and cook until very al dente.

  3. Meanwhile, gently melt the butter (2 sticks) in a large pan over low heat, taking care not to brown.

  4. Add the anchovy fillets (12–14 fillets) to the pan and let them melt into the butter, stirring frequently.

  5. Use tongs to transfer the pasta to the pan along with 0.5 cup of the pasta cooking water.

  6. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir vigorously to emulsify. Add more water as needed to finish cooking the pasta until it is al dente.

  7. Serve immediately.