Garlic-Oil Penne with Anchovy
Pasta, a lot of garlic, and anchovies that melt into the oil. Dinner from a shelf.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 113
- protein
- 19 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 17 min
- water
- 900 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried penne | 8 oz | |
|---|---|---|
| Garlic | 4 cloves | whole heads keep for weeks unrefrigerated |
| Anchovy filets in oil | 1 tin, about 2 oz | pack the oil in too |
| Olive oil | 3 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Neutral oil | 1 tbsp | grapeseed or canola, higher smoke point |
| Red pepper flakes | 1/2 tsp | |
| Dried herbs | 1 tsp | parsley or a pinch of ground fennel for the anise note |
| Grated hard parmesan | 2 tbsp | the shelf-stable shaker kind |
| Salt | 1 tsp |
Method
- Bring 900 ml of salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook until it still has some bite, around 10 minutes.
- Pour off most of the water into a mug and keep it. Leave about half an inch in the pot with the pasta.
- Push the pasta to one side, or tip it into the mug if your pot is small. Add both oils and the sliced garlic over low heat. Cook until the garlic is pale gold, not brown. Brown garlic is bitter and you cannot fix it.
- Drop in the anchovies and the pepper flakes. Stir for a minute. The filets fall apart on their own.
- Return the pasta, add a splash of the reserved water, and stir hard until the oil and starch turn into a sauce that clings.
- Kill the heat, stir in the dried herbs, and shake the parmesan over the top.
Aglio e olio is already a trail recipe pretending to be Italian dinner. Oil, garlic, salt, dried pasta, all shelf-stable, all cheap, one pot. The only change from a home kitchen is the parmesan: use the dry grated shaker kind instead of a wedge, since it survives a warm pack.
The part people get wrong is the water. Reserve a cup before draining. Starchy pasta water is what turns oil into sauce instead of leaving a slick at the bottom of the pot. Anchovies do the same job as salt but with more behind it, and they dissolve completely, so nobody has to look at a fish.
The original used a handful of fresh yarrow, which is bitter and loses its aroma the second it hits real heat. Dried herbs off the flame get you closer than a wilted forage does.
Packing
Penne, pepper flakes, herbs, and salt in one bag. Anchovy tin and the oil bottle ride upright in a side pocket. Garlic goes loose; it does not need protecting.
Variations
- Skip the anchovies and use a tablespoon of miso paste for a vegetarian pot with the same salty depth.
- A foil packet of tuna stirred in at the end pushes protein past 30 g.
- Wild herbs picked at camp work here if you know them cold. Add them off the heat, a leaf or two, no more.
https://foragerchef.com/cooking-with-yarrow