Asparagus and anchovy pasta with fennel seed pangrattato

You might be tempted to leave out the pangrattato from this pasta but, trust us, it’s a crunchy topper that really makes this dish sing.

25 MINUTES | SERVES 2 | EASY

spaghetti 200g

olive oil 2 tbsp

garlic 2 large cloves, thinly sliced

anchovy fillets 8, chopped

dried chilli flakes a pinch

asparagus 200g, woody ends snapped off and discarded, cut into bite-sized pieces

white wine 125ml glass

parmesan 40g, finely grated PANGRATTATO

stale sourdough 2 small slices, cut into pieces

fennel seeds 1 tbsp

olive oil 2 tbsp

1 Make the pangrattato by whizzing the sourdough and fennel seeds in a food processor with a pinch of salt until you have chunky breadcrumbs. Pour the olive oil into a non-stick frying pan, tip in the breadcrumbs and cook over a medium heat, tossing regularly, until golden and really crisp. Set aside.

2 Cook the spaghetti in a large pan of lightly salted boiling water until al dente, then drain, reserving some of the cooking water.

3 Meanwhile, heat the oil in a separate frying pan and cook the garlic, anchovies and chilli flakes for 1-2 minutes or until the anchovies have melted. Add the asparagus and cook for 2 minutes, then add the wine and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes or until the asparagus is just cooked through.

4 Tip the spaghetti into the asparagus pan with the parmesan and toss really well, adding a splash of the pasta cooking water to loosen. Season with plenty of black pepper. Divide between two bowls and top with plenty of the pangrattato.

PER SERVING 763 kcals | fat 32G saturates 7.6G | carbs 79G | sugars 6.2G fibre 6.8G | protein 26.3G | salt 2.1G