PASTA WITH ANCHOVIES AND AGED CHEDDAR

Serves: 4 Chef Marie-Fleur St-Pierre uses short pastas for this dish, like penne or rigatoni, and if she doesn’t have anchovies on hand, sardines make an excellent replacement. In fact, she says, boyfriend Alex Verreault prefers sardines. “It’s a peasant dish — rustic,” he says. “But she makes it delicious.”

450g (1 lb.) pasta, such as penne 2 tbsp olive oil 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced 1 tbsp freshly ground pepper 12 whole, salt-packed anchovies, rinsed in cold water 2 slices of Serrano ham, sliced into thin strips 2 tbsp chopped parsley, plus a bit more for garnish 6 egg yolks 1 cup grated strong cheddar cheese, plus a bit more for garnish 1 cup pasta cooking water (you will need 1/2 cup for the recipe, but keep extra just in case your sauce is too thick)

1. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling, salted water, according to the package instructions.

2. In a large frying pan, sauté together the oil, garlic and pepper over medium heat until the garlic just begins to turn golden. Immediately add the anchovies and sliced ham.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the parsley, egg yolks and cheddar to make a paste.

4. Once the pasta is cooked, strain and place into the pan with the anchovy mix.

5. Still over medium heat, add the pasta cooking water along with the cheese and egg yolk paste.

6. Stir everything together until the pasta is coated in a smooth creamy sauce. Add the remaining pasta water, a tablespoonful at a time, if the sauce is still too thick.

7. Serve immediately with a bit of extra grated cheddar atop and a sprinkling of parsley.