Bigoli in salsa

Name: Bigoli in salsa
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 2 brown onions, halved and thinly sliced; 12 anchovy fillets; 60ml dry, white wine; 350g bigoli or other pasta of your choice; handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped; sea salt and black pepper

Julia Busuttil Nishimura

October 14, 2022

Pantry pasta: Bigoli in salsa.William Meppem

easyTime:< 30 minsServes:4

Bigoli in salsa, always so comforting and full of flavour, is a classic dish from Italy's Veneto region; it's my go-to recipe when there's not much fresh produce in the house. Bigoli is a thick, wholewheat, spaghetti-like pasta that's extruded by a hand-cranked machine called a bigolaro. You can find dried bigoli in select grocers, but it can be substituted with regular or wholewheat spaghetti. I've eaten this dish with sardines, too, which is also lovely.

Ingredients

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 brown onions, halved and thinly sliced
12 anchovy fillets
60ml dry, white wine
350g bigoli or other pasta of your choice
handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
sea salt and black pepper

Method

Step 1
Warm the olive oil in a large frypan over a low-medium heat and gently cook the onion with a pinch of salt for 8-10 minutes, or until softened and just beginning to colour. Stir occasionally to avoid burning.
Step 2
Meanwhile, prepare the anchovies by either rinsing them if packed in salt or, if in oil, simply draining them. Add the anchovy fillets to the pan, breaking them with the back of a wooden spoon. When mostly dissolved, increase the heat to medium and add the wine, allowing it to simmer for a minute. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
Step 3
Cook the bigoli in salted, boiling water until just before al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 125ml of the water.
Step 4
Return the frypan, containing the onion and anchovies, back onto a medium heat. Add the cooked pasta and about half of the reserved pasta water.
Step 5
Finish cooking the bigoli in the pan until al dente, adding more of the reserved water, if needed, to loosen the sauce. Stir through the parsley, season to taste and serve.