Pasta and butter has got to be one of the all time great comfort foods. If you have them at home – and most people usually do – it’s instant supper. Boil the pasta, drain, add butter (preferably way too much than is good for you) and enjoy.
Pasta al burro is usually considered a children’s dish in Italy. It’s one of the first real dishes that kids here eat at home, and it’s always an option when going out to a restaurant in a country where there is no such thing as a kid’s menu. In fact, even though pasta al burro is not on any restaurant menu, most waiters, upon seeing a toddler, will just assume you will be asking for this. This was the first ‘real’ food that Sophie and Emma ever ate, and remains the first thing they ask for when they come home.
While delicious and almost everyone’s secret vice, it’s not really something that you would serve to guests, right? But with just a couple of tweaks this homey dish can become dinner party fare.
I started thinking about this because pasta with butter is currently enjoying quite a vogue in Rome in restaurants. But not your everyday pasta with butter. Pasta with butter and the all important additions of anchovies has become something every new restaurant is putting on its menu. In fact you’d think that there was some sort of new law that required it as a prerequisite to opening a restaurant. It’s definitely a trend, but at least an incredibly delicious one.
And beyond easy to make in the comfort of your own home, even if you’re far from the centro storico The trick, of course, is making the effort to source the right ingredients. Freshly made egg pasta to start, then the very best anchovies money can buy. Big fat filets packed in oil are my favorite, preferably from Sicily or, if I’m feeling particularly flush, imported anchovies from the Northern coast of Spain.
And butter. Lots of butter. And no one in his right mind would use Italian butter for this dish. Italians are good at lots of things, but butter is not one of them. I usually opt for imported Danish butter, but last week I happened to have a pack of French butter Sophie had received as a Christmas present from her boss (good bosses give good butter) which made all the difference.
Once you’ve got your ingredients the rest is pretty simple, but not as straightforward as you might think. I use anchovies twice: first disolved into the melted butter, and then a few thick filets added at the last minute. And to achieve the most luscious of sauces, you must make ample use of the starchy pasta cooking water. Placed in a warmed bowl and topped with a few grindings of black pepper, you can pretend you’re in one of Rome’s trendiest restaurants. Or, just call it what it is: comfort food. Your choice.
fettucine {anchovies + butter}
Cook
Total
Yield 4
Comfort food becomes something a bit fancier
Ingredients
- 500 grams/ 1 pound fresh fettucine
- 115 grams/ 1/4 pound good quality butter
- 12 anchovy filets
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
- Put 3/4 of the butter into a pan large enough to hold the cooked and drained pasta and melt over medium heat. Add half of the anchovies and stir till they are dissolved.
- Once the water has been brought to a boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente. If it is fresh pasta it will cook very quickly, so keep your eye on it
- Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of the pasta cooking water.
- Over medium heat, add the drained pasta to the pan with the butter and toss well to coat.
- Add about a quarter of a cup of the cooking water, stirring well.
- Turn off the heat and add the rest of the butter, and a bit more of the pasta water, stirring to amalgamate.
- Add the rest of the anchovies, toss, and serve immediately.
Notes
For an extra boost of anchoviness, you can use colatura, a reduced anchovy liquid from Campania, in addition to the anchovies.
Courses pasta
Cuisine Italian
While I do appreciate the recipe, I believe there could be a typo in the butter grams, 1/4 lb of butter should be more like 115/125gr. I like butter very much, but a whole “Lurpak” pack (The Danish butter you probably refer to) in a pound of Pasta seems really too much… 😉
Thanks! fixed it!
How much colatura? Coincidentally, I JUST bought some and don’t know how to use it.
I usually use about a tablespoon for this quantity of pasta. The traditional recipe in Campania is of course to use olive oil, not butter. But, everything is better with butter, right?
I object!!! I use Italian butter: Burro Trentino….it IS better than Lurpak and costs about 1 euro less, which is a lot…I have used Lurpak and then decided to try some Italian butters….
Come on, Italians do it better!!!
I still dream of the beautiful cultured butter I ate when I lived in Italy ❤️
I’ll be cooking this tonight… using good ol’English butter.
Mmm, looks gorgeous. I love anchovies, but a lot of Americans don’t. Have you ever tried Marmite, butter and pasta water mixed together with cooked pasta. I often have that as a comfort food dish, even though I didn’t grow up eating Marmite.
Really? Marmite pasta? Well…..I wont rule it out until I”ve tried it.
I made this for dinner last night. It was AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING. And that’s all I have to say about that. Many thanks for the inspiration.
That was fast! Happy to hear you enjoyed it!
Burro e alici (butter and anchovies) is a typical condiment used for sandwiches in central Italy (rome in particular). i have never tried it on pasta but will do so soon. Italian butter can be good, not the commercial stuff of course
Does this work with the tinned, salted anchovies most commonly found in American grocery stores?
I’ve never seen tinned salted anchovies, since the salted ones usually come in glass jars in Italy. But yes, it should work fine. Just make sure you clean them well of the salt, and if they are whole, you must take the central one out. They wash them off, and I usually like to let mine soak in olive oil if I’m not using them right away
I just bought some French butter at Roscioli. Will be making this dish pronto!
Just bought your book: Eating Rome — and it’s a delight. I’ll be in Rome in December (only three days this time) before I move onto Naples, Calabria and Sicily. I’ll be able to make the most of your recommendations while there and when I get home. Such wonderful recipes. But right now I’m devouring the book.
Many thanks!!
So happy to hear your kind words!!!
One of my favorite pasta dishes! First time I had eaten it on a hollyday trip in Rome. It was made of course with fresh fettuccine and butter. No question that I have to replicate it at home, but with a few modifications. I used artisan dried fresh egg fettuccine, french handmade butter and anchovies from Liguria, but I browned the butter for an extra nutty kick. It was delicious! For such a simple dish it is important to use the best ingredients you can find. And a qualitative butter is a must. I have used Beurre Échiré AOC, one of the best butters I think.
Greetz
Danny
That sounds absolutely delicious. But using butter makes it another dish entirely I think. You are absolutely right, though, that the quality of ingredients in dishes like these with so few ingredients, makes all the difference.
Jenga. I’m dialing in this recipe. Luckily I live close to the best Italian market in W. Baltimore.
Hello dear Elizabeth –
Just want to thank you for this simple but delightful recipe. And it is so nicely written.
Angels and blessings, and dear greetings –
Ursula❤