Spaghetti with toasted almond milk sauce

• 5 minutes to prepare • 15 minutes to cook • Serves 4

 

 

10 MINUTES

Colatura di alici di Cetara is a typical product of Cetara, a small town on Amalfi coast, It is made using anchovies that are kept in salt inside wooden barrels for forty days. The juice, or colatura, is then strained off and can be used to dress pasta along with garlic, olive oil, and a little lemon juice. As soon as a dear friend asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I asked for a precious bottle of Colatura, which you may find also in Milan, in few, very specialized, grocery shops.

I am a huge fan of anchovies and I often use them in my cooking. Anchovies in the can or jar are ingredients I’d choose to add to top my pizza or eat whole, as a little anchovy added to many dishes does add a savory depth of flavor.

When I first made this easy pasta dish for Nina, I forecasted to maybe find it too fishy tasting and - quite frankly - expected her not to like it. Surprisingly, although there was a subtle smell, the flavor was not jump in your face anchovy, but a subtle, unique flavor that she thoroughly enjoyed.
The only thing I changed from the true original recipe for this pasta was to keep the almonds just slightly toasted, as I was afraid the flavour would result to be too sour, otherwise. This sauce would also be great used to add a little umami flavor to any other dishes, and I am looking forward to experimenting with it!

Here's what you will need for the 4-serving recipe:

320 g spaghetti pasta
200 g almonds
250 ml milk
colatura di alici di Cetara
salt and pepper
EVO oil

1. Place half of the almonds in a pan, and toast them over medium heat until golden
2. Pour the milk in a small pot together with the remaming almonds and bring it to a boil. Let it cook for 1 minute, thenswitch it off and add the toasted almonds
3. Boil water in a pot, add salt and once started to bubble, pour the pasta
4. Prepare the toasted almonds milk sauce: blend 40 g of almonds with 40 g of milk until frothy. Add EVO oil, and 2 teaspoons of colatura
5. Take away one ladle of pasta cooking water and keep it aside. Then drain spaghetti pasta 2 minutes before the cooking time indicated on the package and transfer them into the pan with the sauce of toasted almonds milk. Stir carefully adding cooking water as needed
6. Top with freshly ground pepper. Serve immediately!

In the following, Nutrition Facts of this dish are indicated. Data is provided per serving.