Alison Roman’s Roasted Tomato and Anchovy Bucatini
Made with olive-oil roasted tomatoes, anchovies and gently caramelised red onion, this pasta recipe from Alison Roman is packed with flavour. It freezes really well, making it the perfect make-ahead meal to enjoy on lazy nights.
Introduction
I put this recipe in here because, while yes, this simple combination of anchovies melted into slow-roasted tomatoes with barely caramelised red onion is truly revelatory, it’s the dish that inspired a teenaged me to start cooking in the first place (thanks, Stephanie Mayerson!), and I’m overly sentimental. While you could use tinned tomatoes, the real joy comes from using tomatoes slow roasted in olive oil. As they roast, their sugars come out and caramelise, water evaporates and flavours concentrate, making a superlative tomato sauce. When I’m blessed with an abundance of tomatoes in summer, I like to make this sauce and freeze it so that I can eat this pasta in the coldest months, when I want it the most.
Ingredients
| kosher salt | |
| 60ml (2fl oz/¼ cup) | olive oil, plus more for drizzling |
| ½ | small red onion, very thinly sliced |
| crushed chilli flakes | |
| 4 | anchovy fillets |
| 2 tbsp | tomato paste (concentrated purée) |
| 1 quantity | Olive Oil–Roasted Tomatoes (see below), or 2 × 400g (14oz) tins whole peeled tomatoes, crushed |
| 350g (12oz) | bucatini or spaghetti |
| lots of | grated parmesan |
Method
Olive-oil Roasted Tomatoes
Preheat the oven to 165°C (325°F).
Halve 1.35kg (3lb) smallish tomatoes (such as hothouse or vine-ripened) crossways and place them in a large baking dish, cut side up.
Cover with 375ml (12½oz/1½ cups) olive oil and add a few crushed garlic cloves and fresh oregano or thyme
sprigs. Season with salt and pepper and roast the tomatoes until they start to caramelise around the edges of the baking dish and are totally softened and nearly shrivelled, about 3½ hours.
Let cool before storing in their oil in the fridge, or use them right away for the pasta.
Roasted Tomato and Anchovy Bucatini
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet or heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and season with salt and a pinch of chilli flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is totally cooked through but not browned, 5–10 minutes. Add the anchovies and stir until they’ve melted into the mix, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and cook until it turns a brick-red colour and sticks a bit to the bottom of the pan, about 90 seconds.
Add the tomatoes, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and reduce the heat to medium–low. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the sauce thickens and it tastes so good you can hardly stand it. Add more salt and chilli flakes if you want. Keep warm and set aside.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in the pan of boiling water. Drain, reserving 250ml (8½fl oz/1 cup) of the pasta cooking water.
Add the pasta, along with 125ml (4fl oz/½ cup) of the pasta cooking water, to the pan of tomato sauce and toss to coat. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the pasta is really well coated, the sauce sticking to each individual noodle in a way that can only be described as perfect.
Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the pasta to a large bowl, or divide among four smaller bowls. Top with lots of parmesan.
Do ahead: Tomato sauce can be made 5 days ahead and refrigerated, or 1 month ahead and frozen.
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