Olive, Caramelized Onion & Fresh Anchovy Penne

The fruit and veggie small shop around the corner of my street sells high quality and fresh products. It’s always a great plan B if I don’t have time to go to the market. Among the diversity of things they sell: olives. Olives of all kinds: plain, flavored with herbs, hot or not…you name it! All sizes as well from huge to tiny. They sell them in small containers and you can help yourself choosing between huge jars. I’ve never really paid attention to them till the other day… I passed by the jars as always but then started to notice all those amazing colors. Some purple, ligth green or dark green, some yellow, some black…and I realized they could make a beautiful and colorful pasta dish. On top of their beautiful colors, I do not forget to mention the huge virtues olives are rich of. Olives are full of antioxidants (especially with vitamine E) and of mono-unsaturated fatty acids, the ones that help you fight bad cholesterol (good fat to sum up). This recipe is very simple to make. I’ve added a lot of herbs (lots of mint actually) and some caramelized onions (with balsamic vinegar). I’ve also added fresh anchovies but you can skip this ingredient if you do not eat fish. Ingredients:

  • 300g of gluten-free pasta (I’ve chosen some penne)
  • 3 tbsp organic olive oil
  • 2 medium size onions, peeled and sliced thinly
  • 2 large handful chopped mint leaves
  • 1 cup mixed colorful olives, drained, stoneless and halved
  • 8 small fresh anchovies, diced
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • Guérande salt and pepper
  • some grated parmesan to serve

Recipe:

  1. In a pan with olive oil, sauté the onions till they are slightly golden. Add the vinegar on high heat, stir well and cook for 4 minutes on lower heat
  2. Add the olives and the anchovies. Mix well and let them cook on low heat for 3/4 more minutes
  3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta following the instructions on the package; Drain and set aside
  4. Mix the pasta with the other ingredients in the pan
  5. Top with herbs, salt and pepper before serving
  6. Add some grated parmesan if you want

Enjoy !