Asparagus with Herbs and Anchovies

If you don’t like anchovies, this recipe is definitely not for you. Somewhere I had seen a recipe that used a “salsa” of many herbs and anchovies. I wish I could find it again and post it, but lacking that I created a variation on that mixture.

My version of this salsa was more to taste than exacting. I julienned basil and chopped cilantro, parsley, arugula, and rosemary. I then chopped half a can of anchovies and added those with about 1/2 a tablespoon of olive oil. You can certainly use the oil from the anchovy can – I have also tried that, too. Add some freshly ground pepper, mix your herbs and anchovies together, and you’re done with the salsa. You can add salt, but I find it unnecessary because of the salty anchovies.

Next, I chopped a bunch of asparagus into bite-sized pieces (and I had snapped the stems off before chopping). I sauteed them with olive oil and garlic only for a few minutes so that the asparagus was still crunchy, but not soggy.

Then, I married the salsa with the asparagus. Very easy to do and very flavorful. I have also tried the salsa with roasted broccoli, which I think tastes even better.

Pasta sauce with shredded carrots and zucchini

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Who knew that shredded carrots could be entirely exciting in pasta sauce??? Mario Batali, that’s who. In the last issue of Lucky Peach I came across one of his recipes for pasta sauce. To it, he adds shredded carrots, which give the sauce some fun texture and subtle carroty flavor. I had some zucchini and threw that in as well. I didn’t have time to make his sauce so I just mixed the shredded veggies into a bottled sauce. Give it a try!