October 19th, 2009 
duodishes 
Anchovies, anchovies, anchovies. You’re either cringing or jumping for joy. Anchovies get a bad rap. A very bad rap. The first time we made a dish with anchovies was last December. It was a surprisingly delicious anchovy rosemary sauce over scallops. Who knows why cravings hit sometimes, but anchovies were calling, so we wanted to give them another chance. This savory dish’s sauce is a play off a classic Provençal anchoïade–a spread for crusty bread or vegetables. Though it may shock you a bit that folks are eating this stuff in such an unadulterated form, we think once you taste it, you’ll be licking your spoon.
If you give this a try, please do not confuse anchovies with sardines. They are in no way alike, which was something we learned the hard way a while ago when Chrystal accidentally picked up a big ‘ol can of ‘dines instead of the tiny can of anchovies. Here’s a side story for you: We were testing these sweet and savory olive tapenade type pinwheel appetizers. In went all of the ingredients for the tapenade, including these huge canned fillets. Something about the addition was, well…fishy. It wasn’t until we tasted the final product that we realized the faux pas. Needless to say, those ‘lil pinwheels were tardy for the party. Learn from our silly mistakes! Give this anchovy sauce a try. You can smother lamb, chicken, beef or fish with it. Or go veggie style and spread over couscous or orzo. You’ll have no regrets!
Chicken Pasta with Anchovy Rosemary Sauce – Serves 4
1/2 pound spaghetti
1 pound chicken breast, cubed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
4 tablespoons fresh rosemary
2 ounces anchovies, in oil
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for cooking
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Kosher salt
1. Place garlic, anchovies (with their oil), rosemary and lemon juice in a food processor. Blend until fairly smooth. Add lemon juice followed by olive oil and continue to blend until smooth. Cover and set aside.
2. Season chicken with red pepper flakes, poultry seasoning and a pinch of kosher salt. Set aside.
3. Start a pot of water boiling for the pasta. Add a pinch of salt. Once boiling, cook pasta to desired doneness, approximately 6-9 minutes for al dente.
4. As pasta cooks, drizzle a bit of olive oil in a wide pan. When hot, add the chicken and cook until no longer pink inside, approximately 5-7 minutes.
5. Drain pasta and drop the noodles directly into the pan with the chicken. Add anchovy sauce and toss to coat. Sprinkle with fresh parsley if desired.
Click HERE for the printable recipe.
Really great news! We’re up for a Foodbuzz Blog Award…’Blogger You’d Most Want to See Open Their Own Restaurant’. We’ll be at the 1st Annual Foodbuzz Festival in San Francisco soon, and we want a golden baguette! Put in a vote!
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My husband refers to anchovies as “salty eyebrows” but I love ‘em! This sounds mighty good.
I loved eating anchoïade when I went to the south of France; definitely believe anchovies would be perfect in a dish like this.
I love cooking with anchovies, they just seem to pare with about everything. Your dish sounds amazing. The anchovy rosemary combo sounds like just the thing!
Anchovies? Well…..Okay, I’ll eat it. Looks too damn good to withhold from my food trap.
It may sound fishy but it sure is tasty! This sounds awesome.
That’s awesome about the award nominee!
I should try anchovies, because its one of those things that I’ve never had, yet I say I don’t like it. I just tried capers a few months ago for the first time and loved it!
Yeah, that and sardines get a bad wrap. They’re really tasty stuff, too. Love it. In the Philippines, there’s a tasty street snack called ‘dilis’ which is fried anchovies. Super tasty and crispy. I love your pasta version.
Oh! Anchovies…I love the taste of it, unfortunately my husband cannot stand it…trust me, my mouth is watering just to think of the flavor of this pasta…yummie!
Not an anchovy fan, however, I would eat this dish made by you if put in front of me. I trust anything you make.
Aiming to make your special pbj sandwiches very soon, also chicken paella.
I actually really love anchovies so I agree they get a bad rap as well. One of my favorite dishes is a Mario Batalli pasta dish that is simply caramelized onions and anchovies.
The sauce sounds wonderful!
I can go either way with those little buggers. But I have a feeling this tasted delicious!
I’m with Donna on this one … not usually a fan, but if you made, I’d eat it!
I bet the anchovies were perfect here for upping the flavor! This looks delicious and comforting!
Anything Provencal-ish is great in my book. Love anchovies and your dish looks wonderful. Look forward to trying it very soon.
Anchovy Rosemary Sauce sounds excellent! Nice with pasta & I would also love to try it over scallops as well!
This looks delicious. I know a lot of people recoil from anchovies, but they really do make an invaluable ingredient in so many tasty sauces!
I love anchovies – this pasta dish looks and sounds flavorful and delicious.
I am a fan of all tiny fish (sardines and anchovies incl.) though I could see how those pinwheels didn’t work out.
I don’t know guys… anchiovies are still on my list of things that I do not want in my mouth. BUUUT, I suppose I could maybe give them a chance at some point. May need to drink a couple glasses of wine first though!
I LOVE anchovies! Am one of the only people I know…lol…just picked up a 6 pack of them at Costco, needed this recipe!
Looks delicious!!!
Looks stunning. A buddy of mine turned me on to anchovies some years ago, but I can’t convince my girlfriend to even try them in things. And if I tricked her and slipped it in without her knowing and then told her about it later she would be pissed. Heh.
Anchovies with rosemary sounds fantastic. Great pasta dish!
I’m not the cringing type. I’m definitely the jumping for joy type when it comes to anchovies. Love them!
I have fond memories of eating anchovies (with capers) on crackers with my dad. My mom was NOT a fan — so she’d leave the room while we were eating them. Somehow… that made it special
Love the look of this dish — bet the rosemary goes perfectly with those salty fishies!
Do you mean bad REP?
hee hee!
anyway, I LOVE anchovies! We koreans eat anchovies all the time, too, but in dried form. We use dried anchovies for a soup base, or stir-fry them with some kind of sticky honey sauce. yum~ My dad likes to microwave them snack on them with gochujang and a glass of wine!
Man, I’m hungry for that dish!!
Sounds like a decadent and delicious sauce. I am a fan of anchovies as long as I don’t have to see them.
I saw this recipe on Foodbuzz, and it drew me here. Love the combination of ingredients, and it’s now in my ‘try asap’ list.
When it comes to anchovies, I say, “Bring it on!” I love those teeny, salty guys. They add such complexity to so many dishes.