Ingredients
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (EV)
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 6-8 flat anchovy fillets or 3 teaspoons anchovy paste
- 8-10 jarred piquillo peppers or 4 roasted red peppers, drained
- 1 cup loosely packed pitted black olives, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds, toasted
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish
- Manchego cheese, for garnish
Directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add some salt and the spaghetti and cook until just shy of al dente (it will continue to cook in the sauce for a minute or two). Drain, reserving a ladleful of the pasta cooking water.
- While the pasta is working, heat the EVOO, four turns of the pan, in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and anchovies and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the garlic is tender and the anchovies are melted, about 5 minutes.
- In a food processor, process the peppers into a paste. Stir the pepper puree into the garlic-anchovy oil and warm through; season with pepper.
- Add the reserved pasta cooking water to the sauce along with the spaghetti. Toss the pasta and sauce together for a minute or two to allow the pasta to soak up the sauce. Add the olives, nuts and red pepper flakes, to taste, and transfer to a serving platter or four shallow dinner bowls. Garnish with parsley and shaved Manchego cheese.