When we received the Bertolli 150th edition bottle I was pretty excited. The vintage loving graphic designer heart in me swelled. Bertolli included vintage Bertolli graphics on the Anniversary Edition bottles. When I started thinking about how amazing a 150 year old company is, I thought about our old home. Shortly after the builders finished this house, Bertolli began making olive oil.

As part of the anniversary celebration, food bloggers are sharing their favorite family recipes under the #VivaBertolli hash tag. I scrolled through Twitter and Instagram and there are so many great ideas! We thought about what recipe to make for all of 30 seconds, both of us locking eyes, knowing we were thinking of the exact same recipe.

Our life the last few months went from relaxed to dare I say the ‘B’ word: busy. I can’t stand the idea of not having enough time to cook dinner, so we have a few go-to recipes we rely on when we get ‘busy’. When we’re on set, we can work long hours, which leaves very little time for preparing dinner. The Italians do it right, they take time to eat and enjoy every moment of chewing. We want to live like that! A quick dinner prep makes for a longer time to enjoy the food.

We are sharing a recipe that you can make in about 20 minutes or less. Anchovies are shelf stable, meaning we always keep a can or jar around for this dish. I bought a lot of anchovies to photograph this recipe and the lady checking me out asked me if they tasted fishy. They don’t! I find the tuna sandwiches we ate as kids taste way fishier than anchovies. I love anchovies because they are salty. They are packed full of flavor and make for an easy sauce when paired with a good olive oil. We always keep a box of dried Bucatini cut pasta around too. It’s just like spaghetti only thicker, making for a heartier meal. It’s great with lighter summer sauces, or any sauce.

Anchovy and Lemon Pasta Recipe

• 2 ounces of anchovies, chopped (or one small tin)
  1/4 cup olive oil (we used Bertolli Extra Virgin)
  3 large cloves garlic, smashed then diced
  2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
  1/2 lemon, juiced
  1/2 pound pasta of your choice (we like Bucatini)
  1/4 cup pasta water, reserved

The ingredients can easily be doubled, or even tripled.

1. Cook pasta according to directions, we like to add a splash of olive oil to keep the pasta from sticking. Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water.
2. When pasta is about half way done, begin cooking sauce. Saute garlic in olive oil, about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the anchovies and turn the heat down to medium low, making sure not to overly brown the garlic.
3. When the anchovies start to break down, add in 1/4 cup of pasta water. Cook for about 2 minutes on medium heat.
4. Add in parsley and cook for about 30 seconds, then toss pasta in sauce pan.

Recipe notes: Notice we never said ‘add salt’! Anchovies are really salty, so taste for salt before you add any additional salt. We’ve never had to add salt and I love salty food! We also used a full flavor olive oil. This is key, because this one of the main parts of the sauce.

This post is in partnership with Bertolli. Thank you for supporting the companies we collaborate with! 

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