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I could easily have missed this recipe, it was in tiny print on a page with two other recipes and a giant photo of a hard boiled egg. I’m so glad I didn’t.
This recipe is from the April 2014 issue of Bon Appétit, an issue that’s worth the newsstand price if you’re not a subscriber. Three of the magazine’s staff members suggested ways to use hard boiled eggs leftover from Easter dyeing endeavors and hunts. This one came from Dawn Perry, the Senior Food Editor.
When you read the list of ingredients, you might think you’re in for a very potent dish: anchovies, capers, crushed red pepper, egg. Not so. The flavor is buttery, delicate, briny, delicious. I’ll be honest though, the smell as you prepare this is not neutral. You’ll want to mention what you’re making to those who’ll be eating it before they’re assaulted. Think broccoli. It only smells bad if you don’t know what you’re smelling.
A couple of things were new to me, the pasta shape and the idea of shredding hard boiled eggs (a different technique as I always coarsely chop them for my favorite egg salad). I love them both. The ragged chunks of white and yolk add a delicate richness to this pasta and, I imagine, would do the same for salads or sandwiches. And Torchiette is the perfect shape to shed water when draining, but nimbly capture sauce. Campanelle was called for in the magazine recipe, but I couldn’t find it. Torchiette worked wonderfully, and rotini or penne would also work well.
You may have noticed that I’m a fan of big flavor pasta dishes. If you’re looking for more pasta inspiration, I hope you’ll try Bucatini all’Amatriciana and ultra simple Spaghetti alla Puttanesca, Pasta Aglio e Olio, or Lemon Garlic Pasta – perfect when you need to make dinner in 15 minutes flat.
And if you love the umami flavor of anchovies, don’t miss this Bagna Cauda!
Torchiette Pasta with Eggs and Capers
Ingredients
- 12 ounces dry Torchiette or other short pasta
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 anchovy fillets
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons salt packed capers rinsed
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 4 hard-boiled eggs coarsely grated
- ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Instructions
- Cook Torchiette according to package directions and drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water.
- In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add anchovies, garlic, capers, and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir until anchovies dissolve, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add pasta and lemon juice, stir to coat, adding pasta water as needed if mixture is too dry. Remove from heat and add eggs, Parmesan cheese, and parsley. Toss to combine. Transfer to serving bowl and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
It’s really not fair of me to rate this recipe since I won’t make it until dinner time, but the taste buds in my mind tell me that it deserves 5 stars. How could it not be great? I love everything that goes into it. I’ll for sure be adding more anchovies. They are so good that sometimes I even eat some straight from the can.
haha…I know what you mean, Liz! I love them too.
I just made this for lunch, substituting arugula for the parsley, and used fusilli pasta. Delish. I keep a tube of anchovy paste in the fridge, so using this meant a single serve portion came together easily.
Really good! I wanted a high protein meal, used 4 eggs, grated Romano, and a full tin of anchovies because we like them. The grated eggs melt into the hot pasta with the cheese. Delicious!
So glad you enjoyed this, Ileinie! I’m always up for extra anchovies…
Im too lazy to boil eggs, so im going to try it with a fried version…
Looking forward to that…
Marissa I’m so intrigued by this recipe! I might have to give it a go 😀 Hubby luuurves boiled eggs 🙂
Eggs are one of my favorite foods – love their addition to this pasta – gorgeous photos btw.
Thanks so much, Shashi! And I agree, I love eggs…breakfast, lunch or dinner.
This is my kind of dish, I receive Bon Appetit but do not recall seeing this one, will revisit this for sure. Thanks for mentioning!
They do tend to hide little gems in those pages. It’s my favorite cooking magazine.
This kind of simple yet flavorful pasta is such a great dinner! I love the idea of mixing hard-boiled eggs and extra-pungent capers and anchovy.
You and I need to have dinner sometime! 🙂