Palermo (gro) In no country in the world is there as much talk about food as in Italy, and the discussions are particularly passionate in the deep south, not least in Sicily, where Arabs and French, Greeks, Romans, Turks and Spanish chefs have left their mark. Sicilian cuisine is quite special. “The best dishes are the very simple dishes,” it is often said, and the discussants regularly outdo each other with ingeniously simple recipes. A prime example is the “Spaghetti alla Carettiera” (“Spaghetti in the style of the coachwoman”).
Preparation: a) Gently sauté the peeled and finely chopped garlic cloves in a small pan with a little olive oil until light brown.
b) First add the quartered anchovy fillets and then the finely chopped parsley and sauté briefly.
c) In the pan, next to the garlic and the anchovy pieces, brown the grated bread with a little oil, turning it constantly so that it does not burn.
d) On a second heat, cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente. Remove one cup of cooking water from the spaghetti pot.
e) Drain the cooked spaghetti, leave in the pot, add the contents of the pan, mix in, add the cup of spaghetti cooking water and serve hot.
f) Add additional pepper and grated peccorino to taste.
Good appetite!
Salvatore Passannanti was the one who gave us the recipe. The former university professor, a biochemist at the University of Palermo, discussed with us not only the “Spaghetti alla Carretiera” itself, but also, as it often goes, the history of the origin of this popular dish. Because now and then it appears on menus also as “Pasta all’ Carettiere” (that is, as pasta or spaghetti dish in the “manner of the coachman“). Opinions differed. Absolutely agree but both in Palermo and in Naples, that this dish, if it is to come perfectly on the table, precisely because of its straightforward simplicity, requires the very highest culinary art..