Pasta With Caramelized Cabbage, Anchovies and Bread Crumbs
  MELISSA CLARK


This dish is hearty and robust, with a savory backbone from the anchovies, sage and pecorino, as well as a bite from the red chile flakes. (A note to anchovy haters: add them anyway. They dissolve into the sauce and add complexity without any fishiness.)

Although I used regular pasta, I think farro pasta or whole-wheat pasta would also have stood up to the brawny flavors of the dish. Or, if you wanted to take this in a meatier direction, you could substitute bacon for anchovies, reducing the olive oil and using some of the bacon fat to cook the cabbage. Pork products and cabbage are a match made in heaven, or at least in much of Eastern Europe.




INGREDIENTS
5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 anchovy fillets
½ cup coarse bread crumbs
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
¼ teaspoon black pepper, plus more, to taste
 Kosher salt, to taste
1 pound dry penne
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon red chile flakes
8 cups shredded cabbage
⅔ cup grated pecorino or Parmesan.


PREPARATION
Mince one garlic clove. Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the anchovies and cook, mashing with a spatula, until they dissolve into the butter. Stir in the minced garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in the bread crumbs and sage and cook until bread is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Season with black pepper.

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions until barely al dente. Drain.

While the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining garlic and cook until golden brown. Add the chile and cook until fragrant. Stir in the cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Toss in the pasta and bread-crumb mixture and heat through, then quickly toss in the cheese and remove from heat. Season with salt and more pepper, if desired, and serve immediately.

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