Anchovy Pasta with Tomatoes & Olives – Provençal Style
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 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.
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.