French Anchovy Pasta – A Provençal Recipe with Simple Ingredients

This anchovy pasta with tomatoes and olives is a rustic, Provençal-style dish that comes together quickly with just a few simple ingredients. The anchovies melt slowly into the olive oil to form a rich, savoury base — not fishy, just full of flavour. I filmed this recipe back when I was still cooking on my little two-burner stove, and it’s one I still come back to. If you enjoy this kind of straightforward, honest cooking, you might also like my French Chicken Pilaf — another rustic dish that’s full of comfort and flavour.

Anchovy Pasta with Tomatoes & Olives – Provençal Style

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

A French-inspired anchovy pasta from an old Provençal cookbook. It’s quick, full of flavour, and made with tomatoes, garlic, olives, and anchovies melted gently into olive oil. A rustic and deeply satisfying pasta dish that comes together in minutes.

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Ingredients

 

• 2 tablespoons olive oil 40ml, plus extra for pasta
• 6 anchovy fillets in olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
• 500 g tomatoes about 1 pound, deseeded and chopped
• ¾ cup pitted black olives halved (100g)
• ½ -1 tsp dried basil or a few leaves of fresh basil
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• 350 g dried spaghetti
• 1 tablespoon butter 15g, for stirring through
• Grated Parmesan cheese to serve

Instructions

 

• Melt the Anchovies
• In a small pan over low heat, gently warm the olive oil and add the anchovy fillets. Let them melt into the oil slowly without frying.
• At the same time, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil for the pasta.
• Peel and lightly crush the garlic cloves. Deseed the tomatoes and chop them into small pieces.
• Halve the olives or leave them whole, depending on preference.
• Cook the Pasta
• Add spaghetti to the boiling water. Cook according to packet directions (about 10 minutes). Add a little olive oil to help prevent sticking.
• Start the Sauce
• In a large wide pan, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over high heat. Add the garlic and let it sizzle for a few seconds — do not brown.
• Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan. Cook over high heat for 5–6 minutes until the liquid reduces and tomatoes are just softened.
• Add a small pinch of salt (the anchovies and olives are salty), a grind of black pepper, and the dried or fresh basil.
• Stir in the olives, followed by the anchovy oil mixture. Toss gently to combine.
• Combine with Pasta
• Turn off the heat. Add the drained pasta to the pan and toss everything together.You may need to add a little pasta water to loosen the sauce and help it coat the spaghetti evenly.
• Stir through a little butter and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Discard the garlic cloves if preferred.

Video

Notes

• Anchovies: The flavour is rich but not fishy. Letting the anchovies melt slowly is key to the sauce’s depth.
• Tomatoes: Deseeding helps remove acidity — there’s still plenty of flavour in the tomato flesh for this dish.
• Pasta: Gluten-free pasta works beautifully in this recipe.
• Leftovers: Keeps well for a day, but best enjoyed freshly made.