Aglio ed Olio: A Christmas Pasta

Every Christmas Eve, as we grew up, there was a huge meal of various seafood. This was a tradition was known in some households as the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Because we lived in New England, near the coast, fresh seafood was abundant.

Wilipedia explains: "The "Feast of the Seven Fishes" is said to have come from Southern Italy, but today is a completely Italian-American celebration.
A dinner on Christmas Eve is celebrated with meals of fish and seafood, but there may be seven, eight, or even nine specific fishes that are considered traditional.

 The most famous dish Southern Italians are known for is Baccalà (salted cod fish). Reasons for celebrating with such a simple fish as Baccalà is attributed to the greatly impoverished regions of Southern Italy.

 Fried Smelts, calamari, and other types of seafood have been incorporated into the Christmas Eve dinner over the years, and sensationalized with the American version of "The Seven Fishes.""

Our meals in New England consisted of several calamari dishes, smelts, and of course the dried cod known as Baccalà. Thrown in were clams and shrimp, as well as other local seafood, like fillet of sole (flunder).

I can still smell these fishes frying and being baked by my mom.

The following pasta dish was always a favorite. We never could pronounce it correctly, but we still love it!

Aglio ed Olio (Garlic and Oil)

Ingredients

• 3-4 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 3-4 Cloves of garlic
• 1-2 Cans of anchovies in oil
• 1 lb. of your favorite pasta
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. 
   
   Put olive oil in sauté pan over medium-low heat.
   
   
   
2. 
   
   Add minced garlic.
   
   
   
3. 
   
   Slowly cook garlic. (Be careful not to burn the garlic, as it will turn bitter. )
   
   
   
4. 
   
   Add anchovies and crumble with a fork. Set aside.
   
   
   
5. 
   
   Cook pasta in about 4 quarts of water. Add a dash of salt, pepper, and oil.
   (The oil seems to keep the pasta from sticking.)
   
   
   
6. 
   
   After the pasta is cooked, reserve about 11/2 cups of the pasta water. The pasta water is your liquid for the sauce. Drain pasta.
   
   
   
7. 
   
   Put the pasta water back in the sauce pan with the garlic, olive oil and anchovies. Reheat the mixture. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you.
   
   
   
8. 
   
   Toss the completed mixture with the pasta. Reserve a small amount for additional sauce.
   
   
   
   
   
   

Pizza on Earth, Good Will to All!

albert grande

Click here for Pasta Therapy

You can find some great olive oil, here:

Anchovies in Olive Oil: A Request from Spain

I recently received the following request from Spain.
Originally it was in Spanish, so I requested a translation.
Here is what email said:

Dear Sir/ Madam :

We are informed by the Spanish Commerce Office in London
that your company is
interested in importing fish and other foods from Spain.

Our company is established in 1962 in Colindres, north coast in Spain. Our
anchovies enjoy an excellent reputation in Spanish market, and is recipient
to numerous awards of recognition with regards the quality of our product.

We have a large factory completely adapted to EU requirements and we have
obtained the BRC Certificate. Our production capacity permits us to offer
unparalleled service to our customers in Spain, as well as in the international market.
We already export to countries such as
France, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland or Ireland. We are interested in extending
the commerce to your country.

If you are interested in importing anchovies in oil, " alla vera carne" or any of our
other specialties like crab salad, octopus "in the galician way", mussels in pliked sauce
and razor shells in brine, of best quality at best price, please do not hesitate to contact us.
We are happy to provide all the information require.

We look forward to receive word from you.

Yours faithfully,

Iñigo Velasco Ayensa
Export Deparment
Phone number: 0034-942-652121
Fax number: 0034-942-652142
e-mail: [email protected]
http://www.conservasrevuelta.com
(This is the English page link for this website, ag)




My Response:

Gracias Senor. Please give our regards to our friends in the
Spanish Commerce Office in London. Please inform the
Office Staff, the next time we are in London, perhaps we
could all meet for lunch. Everyone pays their own bill, of course.

To be honest with you Iñigo, I use 2-3 cans of anchovies
every couple of months. I do not feel I could justify importing
a large quantity of anchovies, at this time. If you want to give
me a 10 can discount, please let me know.

pizzatherapy.com is a virtual pizzeria, not a real one.
We are
all about pizza.
We do feature a fantastic "Anchovy and Tomato Pizza" recipe in
The Pizza Therapy Pizza Book from pizzatherapy.com.
Please check it out
and let us know what you think. Also please check out our
Pizza Resources.

pizza on earth,

albert grande