“Summer on a plate” embodies different meanings for different people. Since I moved to Italy, the term has come to represent one melodious dish for me: spaghetti all’acciugata (anchovy spaghetti) from La Cantina di Miky in Monterosso al Mare, Ligurian Riviera. Summer is still a good way off, but in the meantime, I just couldn’t resist attempting to evoke the season’s breezy vibes at home.
Nicknamed pan du ma, “bread of the sea” in the local dialect, anchovies feature prominently in the canon of Ligurian cuisine. Schools of these svelte silvery swimmers congregate in Monterosso’s iridescent water, and pescatori head out after sunset to nab the fish alla lampara, a method so-called for the lamps that lure the anchovies to the trawls. Anyone who’s strolled Monterosso’s main drag at night has undoubtedly noticed the bobbing lights twinkling on the otherwise invisible horizon.
Monterosso al Mare
The village hosts festivals to celebrate the fried riff on its prized maritime bounty each June and its salted counterpart each September. What makes le acciughe di Monterosso so exceptional? “They say that the area here has a particular acqua culture with a special salinity that gives the anchovy a particularly delicate flavor,” explains Christine Mitchell, who co-owns La Cantina di Miky with her husband Manuel De Fina. “I think the thing that a lot of people forget about Monterosso and Liguria, in general, is that before tourism this was an incredibly poor village,” says Mitchell. “Life was incredibly hard, the people were very poor and one of the most important things to remember is that anchovies are a poor man’s fish. They’re also easy to preserve. You salt them and then you have them for the wintertime when the seas are rough and fishing is more difficult.”
From stuffed to pickled to lemon-marinated, La Cantina di Miky offers myriad takes on Monterosso’s aquatic darling, my personal favorite being the spaghetti all’acciugata, a vibrant medley of anchovies, tomatoes, capers, olives, and pine nuts—a puttanesca of sorts with a Ligurian flair. In fact, if not for the unseen enemy we’re all currently at odds with, I’d be in Monterosso right now. I know it’s not prime beach season, but the fresh air, good company, and spaghetti all’acciugata all beckon nevertheless. While the first two are on hold for the foreseeable future, the recipe for the latter has rendered savoring a plateful less elusive.
The ingredients call for handmade pasta, but I used spaghetti —not so much because I was lazy as I was short on time. I know it might seem like the quarantine has bestowed us with considerable hours to fill, but I had maxed out my agenda: Netflix dropped the third season of Ozark, a requisite rewatch of the first two seasons of Babylon Berlin, tackling War and Peace, virtual yoga classes, clocking (at least) 10,000 steps a day and, of course, my work. So, the pasta maker will just have to keep nesting on my shelf until next time.
Spaghetti all’acciugata
Serves 2
Ingredients:
½ lb. fresh spaghetti
3 oz. fresh anchovies, filleted and without bones
3 tsp. capers
3 tsp. pine nuts
2 Tbsp. Taggiasca olives
2 oz. fresh tomatoes
½ cup tomato sauce
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
½ crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp. fish broth
Extra-virgin olive oil
Oregano
White wine
Method:
Heat a pan with extra virgin olive oil over medium-low heat.
Add the anchovies and cook until opaque then add the garlic and lower the heat. Cook for 1-2 minutes then add the capers, pine nuts, and olives. Let cook for approximately five minutes, but keep an eye on them to make sure the pine nuts and garlic don’t burn. Add 1 cup of white wine and stir until partially evaporated, then add fresh tomatoes and red pepper flakes. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the tomato sauce and fish broth followed by the oregano.
Cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water. (Start boiling the water around five minutes before you make the sauce to time the dish appropriately.) Homemade or fresh spaghetti will be ready in under 2 minutes, so keep an eye on it.
Whether you’re using fresh or dried pasta, cook it until very al dente, drain, then finish cooking in the sauce so that it absorbs some of the liquid and flavor.
Note: The anchovies should be fresh, not salt- or oil-preserved, and if you’re able to find the Monterosso variety, use them. Also, if you don’t have fish broth handy, substitute vegetable broth or the pasta cooking water.
Extra Tip: go to @lacucinaitalianausa Instagram account and in the Highlights you'll find all Jaclyn's steps cooking this yummy recipe!