Franco Vastola came up with his Papaccelle sott’olio to recreate the exact recipe that his wife had been cooking at home. We immediately fell in love with the concept! Then, we learned that Franco includes a few anchovies in each jar of peppers. This give them an extra delicious umami boost. That’s the moment when this pasta combination started taking shape in our heads.
Papaccelle and anchovies are a match made in heaven. Pantelleria capers provide a final burst of acidity to really balance out this delicious pasta sauce. Cut the Papaccelle and shallots to approximately the same length as the pasta to create a pleasing texture in the finished dish.
Ingredients
SERVES: 2
TIME: 30 minutes
- Genovesine, 180g/6.3 oz
- Shallot, 1-2, coarsely chopped, 50g/1.7oz
- Sicilian anchovy fillets in olive oil, 6
- Papaccelle peppers, 1/2 jar, coarsely chopped and oil reserved
- Capers, 2 tsp, rinsed and drained
- Peperoncini, 1/2 tsp, finely diced (to taste)
- Fresh parsley, chopped
Preparation
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil from the papaccelle jar in a large, heavy bottomed pan over medium/low heat. Add the shallot and stir to coat in the oil. Cover the pan and gently cook down, stirring occasionally, until the shallots have completely softened (about 15-20 minutes)
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to the boil and begin cooking the genovesine. Be very lenient on the salt in the pasta water, as the anchovies and capers will bring a lot of saltiness to the finished dish.
- When the genovesine are a few minutes away from al dente, add two anchovy fillets to the shallots and allow them to dissolve. Next, mix in the chopped papaccelle, rinsed capers, peperoncini, and a ladle or two of pasta water. Stir and allow the flavors to combine for a minute or so. Coarsely chop the remaining anchovies.
- When cooked to your liking, add the genovesine to the vegetables and stir to coat. Add more pasta water and oil from the papaccelle jar as needed to form a silky sauce. Stir in the remaining anchovies.
- Divide between two bowls and serve immediately, sprinkled with fresh chopped parsley
