Pasta and rapini, a classic combination from the Puglia region of Italy. This recipe includes anchovies and is topped with toasted, crushed almonds taking this simple dish to a whole new level. And it's ready in 30 minutes!
Pasta with rapini, anchovies and crushed almonds is a recipe that was inspired by my husband's nonna. This was the pasta she most often served on Christmas Eve. Unlike most pasta dishes that are served with grated Parmigiano cheese, this one is topped with toasted, crushed almonds.
Why is that you ask? Most Italians are opposed to pairing fish, in this case anchovies, with cheese. And since Christmas Eve is traditionally a fish and seafood affair, this is the perfect pasta dish to add to your menu. Crushed almonds add a crunchy, buttery flavored topping giving this pasta a beautiful contrast of texture and flavors.
Since you'll be busy preparing many wonderful fish and seafood dishes during the holidays, you'll want to make a simple pasta dish that you can prepare in about half an hour. But of course, although I recommend this recipe for Christmas Eve, it is delicious any time of year!
How to make Pasta with Rapini, Anchovies and Crushed Almonds:
Here's what you'll need to make this recipe:
- 2 bunches of rapini
- olive oil
- garlic
- anchovy fillets in oil (canned or jarred)
- a pinch of red pepper flakes for a spicy kick
- pasta: I used Mafaldine as my husband's nonna did but any other short (penne, rigatoni, orecchiette) or long pasta (spaghetti, fettuccine, linguine) will do
- toasted, crushed almonds for topping
For the toasted, crushed almonds:
Roast almonds (as many as you'd like) in a 350F preheated oven for about 20 minutes, tossing them occasionally. Let cool, then transfer to a mortar and pestle to crush or place in your food processor and pulse a few times.
Prepare the rapini:
Rinse the rapini well and trim off the tough ends. Blanch in a large pot of salted, boiling water for 4-5 minutes. Drain well and set aside to cool slightly. Then give it a rough chop and set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt, and cook pasta until al dente. Reserve some of the cooking water for the sauce, if needed.
While the pasta is cooking heat olive oil in a large skillet and add minced garlic. Add 3-4 chopped anchovy fillets and stir. Use the back of the spoon to crush the anchovy fillets. They will practically dissolve the oil-garlic mixture. Add a pinch or red pepper flakes, if using.
Add the reserved chopped rapini and stir to coat in the garlic-anchovy oil. Stir in the cooked pasta and toss to combine well with the rapini. Top with extra olive oil, if needed, and pasta cooking water to help adhere the rapini mixture to the pasta.
Serve hot topped with crushed almonds.
Tips and suggestions:
- Choose rapini with dark green leaves and plenty of buds (those are my favorite part) that have not turned yellow.
- To save time, blanch your rapini ahead of time and keep refrigerated until you are ready to cook your pasta and assemble this dish.
- You may reserve the rapini cooking water to boil your pasta in, if you wish.
- I chose Mafaldine pasta for this recipe but you may choose substitute with a pasta of your choice. Orecchiette is a classic pasta choice that is most often paired with rapini.
- Turn this into a main dish by adding crumbled sausage (without the casing) in the 3rd step of the recipe.
If you enjoy pasta dishes with vegetables, here are a few more recipes for you to check out!
If you try out this pasta recipe, please share your photos with me with #mangiabedda or @mangiabedda on Facebook or Instagram. Buon appetito!
Ingredients
- 2 bunches rapini
- 4 tablespoon olive oil plus extra for drizzling
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 3-4 anchovy fillets in oil canned or bottled
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 450 grams pasta
- salt
- ¼ cup toasted almonds crushed
Instructions
- Rinse the rapini well and trim off the tough ends. Blanch in a large pot of salted, boiling water for 4-5 minutes. Drain well and set aside to cool slightly. Then give it a rough chop and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt, and cook pasta until al dente. Reserve some of the cooking water for the sauce, if needed.
- While the pasta is cooking heat olive oil in a large skillet and add minced garlic. Add chopped anchovy fillets and stir. Use the back of the spoon to crush the anchovy fillets. They will practically dissolve the oil-garlic mixture. Add a pinch or red pepper flakes, if using.
- Add the reserved chopped rapini and stir to coat in the garlic-anchovy oil. Stir in the cooked pasta and toss to combine well with the rapini. Top with extra olive oil, if needed, and pasta cooking water to help adhere the rapini mixture to the pasta.
- Serve hot topped with crushed almonds.
For the crushed almonds:
- Roast almonds in a 350F preheated oven for about 20 minutes, tossing them occasionally. Let cool, then transfer to mortar and pestle to crush or place in your food processor and pulse a few times.
Notes
- Choose rapini with dark green leaves and plenty of buds (those are my favorite part) that have not turned yellow.
- To save time, blanch your rapini ahead of time and keep refrigerated until you are ready to cook your pasta and assemble this dish.
- You may reserve the rapini cooking water to boil your pasta in, if you wish.
- I chose Mafaldine pasta for this recipe but you may choose substitute with a pasta of your choice. Orecchiette is a classic pasta choice that is most often paired with rapini.
- Turn this into a main dish by adding crumbled sausage (without the casing) in the 3 step of the recipe.
Frank
We make this dish all the time in the winter, only with orecchiette. The classic choice, as you say. But I do like the idea of branching out a bit into other kinds of pasta. I've never had it with almonds, though. Sounds lovely. Will have to try that soon!
Nadia
Hi Frank, yes the pasta almost always associated with rapini is orecchiette and my husband's nonna made orecchiette as well. However when it came to Christmas Eve, for some reason the mafaldine were always the pasta of choice. And I had never had pasta topped with crushed almonds before either, but it's definitely a winning combination. Thanks for your comment and happy holidays to you!
Anna Bucciarelli
A wonderful dish Nadia, for Christmas Eve or any time at all. It is only recently that my supermarket has begun carrying rapini so I use just plain broccoli and that worked but never as good as what mama made back in the day. Happily I can find rapini easily enough these days. We have never use the almond topping you describe, we always used toasted fresh bread crumbs which we seasoned liberally with oregano and red pepper flakes but any herb can be substituted for the oregano, all a matter of taste. Again, my heartfelt thanks for your continuing to share authentic Italian recipes, not Italian-American. Fact is that when Italians first migrated to the United States, ingredients they were used to were difficult to find in their new country so they substituted, refined, developed as best they could what they were used to in the old country, thus came along Italian-American cuisine, or American-Italian if you will. Luckily, an oldie like me can well remember the authentic kitchens of my youth in the Little Italy of the Bronx where I was born and raised. Memories of the aromas coming from the kitchens in that neighborhood on Sundays after church still lingers on my mind and in my heart.
Nadia
Hi Anna, your comment reminds me of stories I've often heard from Italian immigrants about how many Italian ingredients were simply not found here (in my case Montreal) when they first immigrated. So they had to make do and often modify recipes according to what was available. I take it for granted that I've always had access to fresh rapini at the grocery store. And thankfully now I enjoy my rapini because this was definitely one of those green vegetables I would avoid when I was a child! But of course, broccoli would make a great substitute for rapini in this recipe. Thankfully as I grow older I have learned more and more to appreciate these authentic recipes and am adament about preserving these traditions. As always, Anna, thank you for chiming in with your life experiences!