Caramelized Shallot Pasta with Toasted Bread Crumbs
Shallot we? We shall. I first made this recipe on a Sunday, since for me, right off the bat that meant pasta, but I wanted to change it up and had this recipe from New York Times Cooking earmarked as it was one of the recipes with Best of 2020 status. Only I amped it up a bit once I saw that anchovies were involved – enter the toasted garlicky breadcrumbs. I love anything with shallots, to me they’re like onions without the chutzpah, sweet and flavorful with ladylike grace, but still tough enough to make you cry. Shallots very much take center stage here. This dish is definitely off the beaten path and if you’re looking for a unique pasta recipe with a wow factor, this is it. It has a bit of a kick, but can always be made mild. And the leftover jammy-esque sauce can be used for so many other things – with eggs or spread on bruschetta.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 6 large shallots, very thinly sliced
- 5 garlic cloves, 4 thinly sliced and 1 finely chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes plus more for serving
- 1 – 2 ounce can of anchovy fillets, about 12, drained
- 1 4.5-ounce tube of tomato paste or about 1/2 to 3/4 cup
- 1 pound of long pasta, preferably bucatini, linguine or spaghetti
- 1 cup of finely chopped parsley
- 1 1/2 cups of fresh bread crumbs, toasted
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add shallots and thinly sliced garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir occasionally until the shallots have become caramelized with golden-brown fried edges, about 15-20 minutes.
- Add crushed red pepper and anchovies. You could add the anchovies whole, since they will dissolve on their own. Stir to melt the anchovies to make a mixture with the shallots, about 2 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly to prevent any burning until the tomato paste has started to cook in the oil, caramelizing at the edges and going from bright red to a deeper brick red color, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. To serve, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to package directions until very al dente. Transfer to the original pan or Dutch oven containing the shallot mixture. Add one cup of retained pasta water. Cook over medium high heat, swirling the pan to coat each strand of pasta, using a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up any bits on the bottom, until pasta is thick, and the sauce has reduced to a sticky consistency, but not saucy, about 3-5 minutes.
- In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauteé the breadcrumbs over low-medium heat, adding the parsley and finely chopped garlic clove, and flaky sea salt and pepper until bronzed.
- In a small bowl, combine the parsley and finely chopped garlic clove, season with flaky salt and pepper. Divide pasta among bowls or transfer to one large family-style serving bowl and top with parsley/garlic mixture and more crushed red pepper, if desired.
