Marcella Hazan's Tomato Anchovy Sauce

The fridge is full to bursting right now with various pots of jam, a silly amount of mustards in tubes and jars, two or three cheeses and a bunch of homemade fruit syrups (raspberry! elderflower! apple-currant, too!), but, as I stood in front of it with a gnawingly empty stomach today, there was nothing in it for lunch. We had no bread to make impromptu grilled cheese sandwiches, and no vegetables to do a simple stove-top sauté. The last of the rice was used up last night and I thought if I even so much as looked at another potato I'd hurl it at a wall. (Potato pancakes, potato dumplings, potato cake, I think we need to talk.)

When this happens to you, do you usually throw in the towel and go out for lunch? Or do you scrounge around until you find something suitable to eat, even if that means canned sardines on top of instant polenta with toasted sesame oil for flair? If I had not still been wearing my pyjamas at lunchtime (uh, one of the benefits of working from home, yes), I would have thrown in that towel and made someone else make me lunch. But vanity and laziness made me resourceful. You see, we did have a small jar of anchovies in oil and a can of my very favorite pomodorini di collina and an obliging parsley plant on the balcony.

Suddenly, things were looking up.

I first read about this sauce on Rachel's mouthwatering blog earlier this year. It's Marcella Hazan's recipe and seems to be almost like the devastating Sofia Loren to her more Jayne Mansfield-like tomato-butter-onion cult. You melt a few anchovies in some olive oil, throw in a bit of garlic (I leave mine in chunks big enough to fish out, but you could mince it, too), and then simmer a can of tomatoes in that dark, funky base until the sauce is reduced and thick enough to coat a panful of spaghetti. I find it needs a bit of chopped parsley to make it feel like a proper lunch, but that's about it. You barely need any salt, you certainly don't need any grated cheese on top and the sauce's richness (not fishiness, don't worry) makes for a very satisfying meal.

With a square or two of chocolate for dessert, of course. One needs something special to book-end a scrounge-y meal like this, after all.

So, tell me, readers: what do you eat when there's "nothing" at home to eat?

Tomato and Anchovy Sauce
Serves 2 or 3

1 clove garlic, peeled and halved (or minced)
3 tablespoons olive oil
5 flat anchovy fillets
1 16-ounce can imported Italian cherry or plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1. Heat the oil in a skillet and gently brown the garlic over low heat. Add the anchovies and, stirring constantly, allow the anchovies to melt into the oil.

2. Add the tomatoes and bring the sauce to a low simmer. Let simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes. Taste for seasoning. In the meantime, bring a pot of water to the boil and cook enough spaghetti for two or three people. Drain the spaghetti, toss with the sauce and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.

Comments

[LoveFeast Table]

Great idea!! That looks lovely!!

I'm talking about the same concept over at my blog today...LoveFeast Table. How to kick up a sandwich from average to something to savor!
It's part of our 31 Days To Savor A Beautiful Life series! http://fb.me/FYeTHyNe

When I have "nothing to eat"...I try to find some "food toys" to kick up my average sandwich or dish. Sometimes I take a salad and throw in whatever random leftovers are in the fridge. The same like you show works for pasta of course! I am definitely going to try and remember my garlic and anchovies. Thanks for the inspiration!! ~Chris Ann

[Beverley D'Cruz]

I'm sitting at home with exactly the same situation right now. I usually always have a few cans of tomatoes and some pasta to rescue me from the same.Tomato, garlic, anchovies - what's not to love? Got some lovely fresh basil so will substitute that for the parsley.
PS - I love your serving plate.

[Dana]

I have a few go-to dishes when the cupboard is bare:

One is pasta with sun dried tomatoes, capers and onion. It is super easy and ready in 15 minutes.

My other is to make eggs in the oven with spring onions, cream cheese and whatever else I have that sounds good.

[alyson two eagles]

a long time ago, you blogged about elderflower syrup, and i have been thirsting ever since. i'm sorry this comment isn't about the sauce, but the mention of the syrup reawakened my curiosity. do you recommend any of the bottles i can purchase online? i would love to make my own, but lord knows there's a dearth of elderflower blossoms here in denver. xox alyson

[bellini valli]

A versatile pasta often saves the day:D

[Andrea]

I've been a fried egg girl lately. I also make that when Hubby isn't home. Its a rare day when we don't have eggs in the fridge.

But tonight...I'm making this sauce! Yum.

[Annika]

Pasta. All the way.
Aglio e Olio is a life saver for me.
And there is always, somewhere a jar of pesto sitting in the pantry.

[patricia]

This sounds like something that will regularly make it into my "we're out of food!" lunch rotation.
I make the sardine pasta that Bittman posted in the NYT pretty often (sardines, lemons, capers, breadcrumbs, pasta) - it's a great pantry lunch

[Dorothee]

If I can, I try to scrounge together a sandwich for those unplanned dinners or lunches. When nothing else wants to come together, I'll usually find a pickle, tomato, some mustard and an odd piece of cheese or meat to layer between our great german bread. But pasta in all forms is a welcome go to as well. Thank you for adding yet another addition to our mealtimes.

[Zoomie]

Linguine with baby clams. Sauté some garlic in olive oil, add the clams and juice from the can for a few minutes, dump in the cooked pasta and smoosh it around. Plate. Offer parmesan at the table with the hand-held grater.

[margie]

I've paged past this recipe dozens of times (is there a better cookbook to flip through on a cool night than one of Hazan's?) without ever making it, but pasta is generally my "there's nothing to eat" meal, too. I fell hard for Giuliano Hazan's spaghetti al mascarpone, but sometimes a girl just needs some tomato sauce, in which case I almost always have some of the aforementioned tomato, butter & onion sauce in my fridge. Now I have something new to obsess over...

[Jacqui]

yes! my nothing-to-eat meals usually consist of sardines + spinach, or molly w.'s chickpea salad, or eggs. this pasta looks like my kind of meal! :)

[Sylee]

That dotted plate is just what you need on a cold October morning -- start of Cold Dew indeed! I think the sardine industry needs to do a campaign on their handy tins as a stalwart staple: it's what I turned to this afternoon too, leftover spaghetti reheated with crumbled sardines, topped with breadcrumbs crisped in garlicky butter and a lacing of lemon zest. More secret feasts involve semolina in sweet or savory incarnations, memories of my mother's Maharashtrian treats...

[Victoria]

It always makes me smile to see a post from you in my Reader. I love your new picture.

When there is really NOTHING in the house to eat, I make Guiliano Hazan's Spaghettini Aglio e Olio because I always have dried pasta, garlic, olive oil, and parsley on hand.

I don't know this tomato/anchovy sauce, but I am thinking it would be delicious on spaghetti as a starter before tiny grilled rib lamb chops and spinach sauteed with olive oil and garlic. I just picked 3 bushels of tomatoes at the (Grandma) Moses Farm and "did" them. They are frozen in one-cup increments. I have 101 Ziplock bags stashed away to use when horrible pale pink orbs are on the shelf at the market!. I think I can use them for this recipe even though they are smooth because I put them through an Italian tomato press before I packed them.

Rachel's blog looks delish. She has a guitar - for making my favorite pasta, which I have only ever had dried, not fresh. On your recommendation, I get the Pasta Setaro brand at Buonitalia and try to always have it in the pantry. But fresh - ummmm. Gives me something to think about. Perhaps something to ask for for Christmas?

Thanks, Luisa.

[Sharmila]

Hurl potatoes at walls? Quelle horreur!
Though I have to concede that on my food player, the potato or egg song could be on continuous replay and I'd have no problem with it. Not a one.
Being an Indian faced with the 'I have nothing to cook' prospect really means that I always have at least some kind of dal and several spices stashed somewhere that I can turn to. So having just dal as a soup is an easy fix. If there is a single egg around, fried eggs would be my go-to food.
A previous commenter asked this question of specifically you, but here's my two cents; Ikea has nice elderflower syrup in their food section.

[Vanessa]

I'm ashamed to admit that I normally give up in desperation and go out when there's nothing to eat but have started keeping a storecupboard of essentials because it was simply happening too often. Pasta is brilliant and I try to have capers, olives, tinned tomatoes, sardines or tuna. Nigel Slater even claims cottage cheese works well on hot pasta but I haven't tried it out yet. Your resourcefulness yields beautiful results; this looks absolutely delicious.

[Deirdre Reid]

I just had a peanut butter and jam sandwich (peanut butter is one of my go-to emergency eats) and now I'm hungry again imagining melting anchovies and garlic. Pasta is one of my "cupboard is bare" dishes because I always have pasta, olive oil, garlic and parmigiana (even if it's the ugly cousin in a green can). A hard-boiled egg will do in a pinch, but if I'm going to boil water, I might as well make pasta.

[Jillian]

When the cupboard is bare it's all about eggs- scrambled with herbs and spices, poached, fried, or coddled with pasta and some more herbs or with black pepper and salt.
If I'm truly desperate, then it's oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts (because I always have those around).

[The Rowdy Chowgirl]

I love this kind of resourceful pantry meal--when they work, they really work, and you end up with something special.

[Seasontotaste]

I love these kind of store cupboard meals - I think it makes it taste even better somehow, than if it had been planned. Pasta with a tomatoey sauce is also my go-to meal - and I always hope that I have a tin of anchovies hiding in the cupboard as they really make a tomato sauce special.

[The Food Hunter]

I am craving pasta now. This looks so good.

[The Leftoverist]

Love that beautiful new header.

I eat fried rice a lot, and always seem to have cold rice somewhere in the back of my fridge. Even if it's just rice, garlic, ginger, egg, and soy sauce, it always hits the spot. (And keeps my precious wok on the road to seasoned perfection.)

[Anna]

Scrambled eggs are usually my go to meal when there is nothing else to eat. I do love the satisfaction of coming up with an actual meal when it seems like there's nothing to use.

[Jen]

I've had many meals lately that consist of a block of cheese, some crackers, a few slices of fruit, and some dark chocolate. That or we have breakfast for dinner--we always seem to have enough ingredients to make pancakes!

[Molly]

Scrounge. Definitely scrounge. Though I find anchovies give any scavenging a nice bit of flounce.

[Renee Fontes]

I usually do the pasta ala cupboard thing. I also try to keep some kind of cheese and at least a scrap of bread or tortilla around so my panini machine is an effective tool to convert something into nothing.

As for throwing in the towel, Naw! I enjoy it most when I stick it out and create a meal out of thin air. Great new header,love the colors!

[Sari]

As I'm reading this I'm eating a scrounged together dinner... I got home at 9:30pm tonight after an evening class. Dinner is pizza bread. I.e. whole wheat bread from the freezer with leftover homemade tomato mushroom sauce, topped with mozzarella, toasted in the toaster oven till it melted. Along with some orange juice.
I was too hungry to wait for water to boil for pasta and anyway that's what I had last night (hence the leftover sauce.)

[Leah]

When there's truly nothing in the house, I'm happy with some pasta with a bit of olive oil, Italian seasoning, and red peper flakes. In fact, I like it so much that I sometimes make it even when I could make something more elaborate.
Of course, cheese and crackers are also always a great meal.

[Katharine]

Mmmm that looks delicious. I'm afraid I'm still honing my culinary creativity, so I often wind up buying lunch in a pinch. But, you're right, there are times when a girl just can't be seen, so I'll make a quick turkey melt. We seem to always have havarti cheese, avocado, and red onion...even when there's "nothing" to eat.

Thanks for sharing this recipe! Will definitely be trying soon :)

[kim]

Faced with an empty fridge I make risotto. I always have onions lying around and a package of faux-parmesan in the cupboard (that may sound like sacrilige to an Italian but I'm sure those Italians will have the real stuff on hand to use instead). Spruce it up with some lemon zest (if I have one) and frozen prawns.
If even that fails, I settle for cornflakes.

[Nuts about food]

Pasta and canned tomato sauce (polpa a pezzi) are usually our go to meal when there is nothing left in the house. Or pasta with tuna (with or without tomato sauce). But hey, your instant polenta, sardines and sesame oil sounds fab, you should dedicata a real post to it. We all need what I call cupboard recipes!

[Koek!]

This - this is exactly what I eat when there's nothing in the fridge... Because I always, always have tinned tomatoes, tinned anchovies and pasta. Oh yes, and three different kinds of mustard, not that they help me any in a pinch.
Come to think of it, I also use chickpeas quite a lot, either making a soup or salad.
Yay - glad you're back. I missed you!
Robyn

[Bea from Rome]

Do you really want to know what I eat when there's nothing to eat? Exactly this pasta... minus the tomatoes (and minus the parsley, which I never have)!!

[Val]

I often opt for the grilled cheese sandwich solution.

The past few days have proven to be particularly challenging though with no gas in the house to work the hob and no cheese in the fridge. I ended up roasting the few vegetables I had; Sweet potato, cauliflower and leek. I made cous cous as a side dish. It ended up being a very hearty and delicious meal!.

[Michelle]

Buttered Basmati with Brown Lentils + Baharat (a spice mix I make in big batches and keep on my pantry shelf at all times). If I have a handful of left-over herbs (usually mint, cilantro and/or parsley), they get thrown in at the last minute. Simple, hearty, satisfying.

But now...well, now I must try this sauce. On my pantry shelf, I have a jar of Italian anchovies packed in oil + chili flakes...just waiting to adorn a big bowl of pasta!

[sirena]

Hm, when there's NOTHING to eat, that still usually means a well stocked pantry and some pita bread somewhere in this house. If I can only rustle up a green onion or chives, canned sardines are our go-to meal around here. A salad of chickpeas also works, as does a versatile pasta.
I also keep a pretty well stocked freezer - frozen peas, shrimp, ZipLoc baggies of veggies and individual portions of meals.

One of our fave fave basic meals here is rice with fried eggs over-easy on top, topped with Mexican salsa picada - mmm. Definitely recommend that!

[Meredi]

When there's "nothing to eat", I make lentil soup, frozen pirohi with sauteed chickpeas and garlic, spontaneous pasta similar to your posting, falafel from bulk, crepes!!, dumplings, omelets, stuff like that.

[Meredi]

Oh...or a perfectly steamed bowl of basmati rice drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, and a side of thickly sliced cucumbers, yogurt, chopped coriander and a sprinkle of homemade curry powder.

[Uncle Bob]

I often resort to a simple pasta soup like tortellini in brodo. I always have some canned chicken broth and usually have some dried tortellini. The tortellini goes into the broth, maybe with some fresh herbs, and voila - some quick comfort food.
P.S. It's always a good day when I see a new post from you ;-)

[Sasa]

Stand at the fridge and eat pickles, carrots and bits of old cheese scraping the blue bits off with a knife? I'm all class, me.

Failing which I usually have frozen leftover rice so I make nekojiru (cat soup) which is just rice in miso soup (I cannot imagine a day when there would be no miso in the fridge, quelle horreur). I think it's called that because I guess pet cats were fed the leftover rice and soup mixed together.

I think I'd be rather pleased with myself if I managed to "scrape" this together on a bare cupboard day though.

[dining table]

This is something new to make this lunch. Thanks a lot for sharing this. I am going to be pleased with this after eating.

[Stephanie @ Dollop of Cream]

Way back when toaster ovens were the appliance of the moment, my Dad taught me how to make what we call "toasteds" for lunch.

Take a piece of good rye bread and butter it. Slice some salami and tomato and put on top. Add fresh basil if you have it. (Dried if you're in a basil mood, otherwise.) Top with sliced cheese. Pop into the toaster oven for a few minutes until the cheese just starts melting.

It's surprisingly, amazingly perfect for lunch, any time of year.

[Claiborne]

Definitely sardines with mustard, on really crispy toast. Or grilled cheese from all the ends bits of the cheeses, and if I'm very lucky, some green tomato pickles.

[Keri]

There's always pasta in the house -- the earth would cease to rotate for my two daughters if there wasn't pasta. And frozen peas. And usually some chicken broth. So I cook it all together with some onions and garlic like a pasta risotto. If we're all stocked up there's parmesan for topping.
And I'm curious. What should a girl use elderflower syrop for? We are very Canadian here and dump maple syrop on everything from oats to yogurt.

[smirker]

I use this as a base for a mean Spaghetti al Tonno.... it works really well if you use the oil from the anchovies to brown the garlic. It adds another layer of fishiness.

[Bunny]

Awesome! Improv is the best recipe sometimes, but I am actually PLANNING to have this tonight becuz after reading this a couple of days ago I went out and purposely bought a few cans of anchovies, just to have on hand for those empty-fridge days. My fridge isn't empty, but AHHHHH I WANT THIS!!! Mmmmm...good, honest, soulful, & satisfying food. And Spaghetti is the king of pasta, imo :)Cheers.

[Bulichka]

Nothing in the fridge? I pop popcorn, and make myself a bowl of peanuts and/or other nuts mixed with raisins, a side potato chips and for dessert a chunk of chocolate. No apologies :)

[Ziu]

My cupboards always hold way more things than necessary so I usually just throw some things together - noodles/rice/pasta with something from a jar or freezer - just like you did here!

By the way, I love your heading. LOVE IT!

[Alex (Simmer Boston)]

Rice Congee! Made with broth, or just water. We serve it up with a dash of soy, a stir of good chili paste, maybe a soft poached egg, some crispy shallots and scallions or the like (if they're kicking around the fridge,)
Or, my friend Becca's famous Tilt Soup in which you "tilt" the contents of your refrigerator drawer into a soup pot and hope for the best.
Love reading your site! Alex

[noëlle {simmer down!}]

I feel pretty unoriginal right now- I'd say my "pantry meals" consist of about half pasta and the other half eggs, with a few random veggie stir-fries for good measure. Pasta puttanesca is probably my favorite pantry pasta sauce, I always seem to have olives and capers and anchovies and hot pepper flakes and garlic. And this year, for the first time, I put up my own tomatoes, so I won't be short on those for a while either!