Pappardelle with seared beef, anchovies and capers
Serves 4; preparation time: 20 min
This pasta, as its name suggests, is prepared mostly along the Mediterranean as capers, or Capparis spinosa, whose pickled flower buds are used as herb in this dish, grows wild namely along the Mediterranean coast. You should rinse them before use to remove the salt, and a strong tangy smell is left that gives condiments a lovely savory taste. The pasta is best served with some spicy dip such as tomato salsa. You can make it using 2 finely chopped tomatoes, an onion, a splash of red wine vinegar and some extra virgin rapeseed oil.
Ingredients:
- 4 x 4,5 oz (125 g) fillet steaks
- 6 tbsp extra virgin rapeseed oil plus extra for the top of each serving
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tsp freshly lemon thyme leaves
- 1 tbsp salt for the pasta
- 2 oz (50 g) can anchovy fillets, drained, chopped and roughly squashed
- 3 tsp Dijon mustard
- 6 tbsp capers, rinsed and patted dry
- 3.5 oz (100 g) pappardelle
Method:
To prepare the steaks place them on a plate and coat them with 2 tbsp of rapeseed oil. Sprinkle the salt, thyme leaves and pepper over each side and leave until ready to cook. Bring one and a half liters of water to the boil in a pan with 3 tsp of salt. In the meantime, mix the anchovies in a bowl with the mustard and add the remaining 4 tbsp of oil.
In a frying pan heat 1 tbsp of the oil and fry the capers, until crispy. Make sure they don’t get brown, which they easily can, in order to preserve the bitter flavor. Cook all the fillets over moderate heat for two minutes per side for rare, a little longer for medium. When they are cooked to suit your taste, place them in a plate and cover it with foil to keep them warm and savory.
While the steaks are resting, cook the pasta for 8 to 10 minutes until just soft. Reserve 5 tbsp of the cooking water and drain the pasta, put back in the pan with the reserved water and the anchovy mixture.
Finally, slice the steaks. Serve the pasta and top the steak, fried capers, extra oil and the juices from the steak, collected on the plate. Grind over black pepper to serve and, of course, the tomato salsa as relish. No can’t go wrong with this recipe, so, enjoy!