Look at what you can do with an onion, a couple of anchovies, and a bit of pasta. Nothing more and nothing less than a very tasty, yet cheap dish, very typical of Venice and its surroundings. Venetians usually prepare this dish with a pasta called bigoli. Bigoli are a type of thick spaghetti with a slightly rough texture, also typical of that region. Since it is hard to find them outside of the Veneto, I cook it with spaghetti and I don’t worry about it (What can you do, right?).
There are those who, for “bigoli in salsa”, the name by which the dish is known in those parts, add a bit of cinnamon powder on top. They say the classic recipe doesn’t have it. I like it better with cinnamon, and besides, in my humble opinion, it adds a sophisticated touch to the dish that makes it suitable for fancy guests who, if there isn’t a daring combination on the plate, seem to be doing you a favor by eating their dinner.
Enjoy your meal!
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The card
- 160 g of bigoli, spaghetti, or any other long pasta.
- 1 medium onion
- The fillets of a couple of anchovies
- Salt
- Virgin olive oil
- Black pepper
- Cinnamon powder (optional)
- Peel and cut the onion into julienne strips, into thin strips.
- Poach the onion slowly with a good splash of oil, at low heat, so that it remains very soft, but does not burn. If necessary, add a little water if it gets dry and is not yet well poached.
- When the onion is well poached, turn up the heat a little and add the anchovy fillets.
- When the anchovy fillets have dissolved, incorporate the pasta almost al dente and a ladle of the pasta cooking water into the pan with the onion and anchovies.
- Sauté the pasta well for approx. 1 min.
- Serve the pasta with a little black pepper and a pinch of cinnamon powder on top.