Anchovy and chilli dressing

This recipe, from River Cottage, is a great sauce for broccoli, cauliflower or kale. 

 

Add hot, drained pasta to broccoli and sauce to turn a side dish into a meal. 

 

Leftover dressing keeps well in the fridge; it’s good spread on toast and topped with scrambled eggs.

 

 

 

What you need

50g anchovy fillets, drained 

150ml olive oil 

2 garlic cloves, peeled 

leaves from a sprig of thyme 

a few basil leaves 

1/2 small red chilli, or a pinch of dried chilli flakes 

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar 

a few twists of black pepper

 

What to do

Blend all the ingredients for the dressing in a liquidiser until completely smooth. Alternatively, if you are using fresh chilli, you can leave it out of the liquidiser and chop it very finely by hand, then stir it into the dressing. This gives it a little texture, and nice flecks of red.

Warm the sauce over a low heat, whisking in a knob of soft butter as it heats up. This should help to emulsify it but don’t worry if it separates a bit; it’ll still taste fine.

 

Text: Linda Ross

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