I am, without a doubt, an Alison Roman fan. Her cookbooks, her red-orange nail polish, they’re very much on brand with my aesthetic and also, most of my go-to recipes are hers. I’ve made this pasta 1,000 times. Sometimes I add ground meat, sometimes not. I prefer bucatini but spaghetti works, a noodle is ideal but I imagine any pasta shape would suffice. I’ve added spinach for extra veggies several times. The three main ingredients are shallots, anchovy and tomato paste. She has a few versions of this recipe online and in her book but the one I’m about to copy and paste with notes on how I personally do it, is the one I usually follow. If you’re into it and want more in-depth instructions, here’s her YouTube video. Can’t recommend all three of her cookbooks or her Substack enough. Hope you enjoy what we like to call, That Pasta I Always Make.
Alison Roman’s Caramelized Shallot Pasta
*I will add my commentary in italics.
Note: I copied and pasted this from her website.
Ingredients
¼ cup olive oil (plus usually more)
6 large shallots, very thinly sliced (I have also used red onion and white onion and as long as you cook the crap out of them, it’s fine.)
5 garlic cloves, 4 thinly sliced, 1 finely chopped (I have never thought about slicing or chopping. I just make them smaller with a knife.)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more to taste (I don’t like spicy so I don’t use any.)
1 (2-ounce) can anchovy fillets (about 12), drained (I can’t believe people hate anchovy, but if you do, still use these, they melt into the sauce and you can’t even taste them, they’re just a very special kind of salty.)
1 (4.5-ounce) tube or (6-ounce) can of tomato paste (about 1/2 to 3/4 cup)
10 ounces pasta
1 cup parsley, leaves and tender stems, finely chopped (I never do this.)
Flaky sea salt
Directions
*Get your water boiling for pasta.
1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium high. (I use a 12in. All-Clad fry pan.) Add shallots and thinly sliced garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots have become totally softened and caramelized with golden-brown fried edges, 15 to 20 minutes. (Like, cook the shit out these, truly 15-20 minutes. I usually wait a few minutes to add the garlic and I almost always add more olive oil as they cook down, keep them kind of wet?)
*If using meat, like ground beef or pork this is when I would start to brown it in a separate skillet.
2. Add red-pepper flakes (or don’t) and anchovies. No need to chop the anchovies; they will dissolve on their own. Stir to melt the anchovies into the shallots, about 2 minutes.
*Put your pasta into the water.
3. Add tomato paste and season with salt and pepper. (Also, add ground meat here if you’re really going for it.) Cook, stirring constantly to prevent any scorching, until the tomato paste has started to cook in the oil a bit, caramelizing at the edges and going from bright red to a deeper brick red color, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer about half the mixture to a resealable container, leaving the rest behind. (First of all, I keep this on a very low heat after it has all melded together and let it keep cooking down while the pasta finishes. Also, I NEVER store half, I like a saucy pasta, I use every bit of this divine paste/sauce and it is delicious and perfect.)
4. To serve, cook pasta according to package instructions in a large pot of salted boiling water until very al dente. Transfer to Dutch oven with remaining shallot mixture (or a skillet if you are using the leftover portion) and 1 cup pasta water. Cook over medium-high heat, swirling the skillet to coat each piece of pasta, using a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up any bits on the bottom, until pasta is thick and sauce has reduced and is sticky, but not saucy, 3 to 5 minutes. (Basically, I cook the noodles while I’m working on the sauce so it all finishes around the same time. Then I use tongs to transfer the noodles from the boiling pot right into the sauce and add pasta water a little at a time to coat the noodles until they get that squishy, coated pasta sound going.)
5. In a small bowl, combine parsley and finely chopped garlic clove, and season with flaky salt and pepper. Divide pasta among bowls, or transfer to one large serving bowl, and top with parsley mixture and a bit more red-pepper flakes, if you like. (I have never done this in the 1,000 times I’ve made this, I put it into bowls, shave some parm on top, add basil if I have it and call it a day. It’s perfect every time. Thank you, Alison.)
Hope you enjoyed this first Good Thing! Please let me know if you decide to make this.
Have a great end to the week!