Chris Leach’s squid ink spaghetti with anchovies, cherry tomato and pangrattato. Photograph: Issy Croker/The Guardian. Food and prop styling: Kitty Coles. Food styling assistant: Grace Jenkins. View image in fullscreen Chris Leach’s squid ink spaghetti with anchovies, cherry tomato and pangrattato. Photograph: Issy Croker/The Guardian. Food and prop styling: Kitty Coles. Food styling assistant: Grace Jenkins. Food Squid ink tomato pasta and honey and fig semifreddo: Chris Leach’s Italian recipes for the end of summer Cooking at this time of year is all about low-effort, maximum-impact options. This savoury dish comes together quickly but looks striking, while the dessert showcases figs at their most flavoursome
Prefer the Guardian on Google T he secret to late-summer/early autumn cooking is to keep things relatively low-effort, not least to assuage those back-to-work/school blues. And that rule applies across the board, whether you’re making a midweek meal, entertaining or serving up a long, slow Sunday lunch. The sauce for this pasta dish, for example, comes together while the pasta is cooking, while the semifreddo pudding makes the most of ripe figs when they are at their absolute best.
The contrast between the black pasta, the red tomatoes and the golden crumbs is really something else, as are the flavours.
For the pangrattato 150g day-old sourdough or country bread 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves , peeled and finely sliced 3 sprigs thyme , leaves picked Fine sea salt and black pepper
For the pasta Sea salt 400g squid ink spaghetti 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil , plus extra to finish 3 garlic cloves , peeled and thinly sliced 300g ripe cherry tomatoes 6 anchovy fillets in oil 75ml dry white wine Finely grated zest and juice of ½ unwaxed lemon 1 small handful picked flat-leaf parsley , finely chopped Black pepper
First make the pangrattato. Tear the stale bread into rough pieces, then pulse in a food processor to make coarse, uneven breadcrumbs. Put the oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat, add the sliced garlic and cook gently, stirring, for a minute or two, until fragrant but not coloured. Add the thyme leaves, cook for a further 30 seconds, then stir in the breadcrumbs and cook, stirring regularly, for eight to 10 minutes, until evenly golden and crisp all over. Season with a pinch of sea salt and a little black pepper, then transfer to a plate to cool completely.
Bring a large pan of well-salted water to a boil, then cook the squid ink spaghetti according to the packet instructions, until al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, put the oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat, then add the sliced garlic and cook gently, stirring, for two minutes, until fragrant and just beginning to colour. Add the whole cherry tomatoes and cook, stirring, for three to four minutes, until they begin to soften and burst, then stir in the anchovy fillets and press them into the pan with the back of a spoon so they dissolve into the oil. Pour in the white wine, turn up the heat and leave to bubble and reduce by about half.
Use tongs or a spider sieve to lift the cooked pasta directly into the tomato pan (alternatively, drain the pasta, saving some of its water), then add a splash of the cooking water, and toss and stir until the sauce lightly coats the pasta. Finish with the lemon zest, a squeeze of lemon juice and the chopped parsley, then taste and adjust the seasoning, adding black pepper and more lemon as needed.
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