pasta with spinach, preserved lemon, and anchovies

This is another of my go-to pasta recipes, albeit perhaps an acquired taste given the preserved lemon and what some people might call an excessive amount of anchovies. It's based on (yes I know) something off Martha Stewart, with spinach added to make it seem healthier and to soak up some of the sauce.

vegetarian/vegan?

I think you could sub the anchovies for miso -- they're mostly a sauce element -- and leave off the cheese.

ingredients

• One box of pasta; I like fettuccine for this.
• Two bags of spinach, or the equivalent in un-bagged greens. More spinach than you think.
• One jar of oil-packed anchovies. Yes, the entire jar. If you can find the spicy kind, packed with red pepper, all the better.
• One preserved lemon, deseeded; both rind and pulp.
• Garlic (the original recipe says 5-6 cloves; add more as desired)
• Olive oil
• Romano or parmesan cheese, grated
• Herbs of some kind -- the original recipe uses parsley, but basil or oregano would also be good.
• Black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste
• Optional: Semolina flour, for thickening the sauce.

directions

1. Chop the preserved lemon as finely as possible, making sure the seeds are all gone. Set aside.
2. Heat a glug of olive oil in a large saucepan or wok, over medium heat.
3. Add the garlic once the oil is hot, then the anchovies (plus their oil), then the chopped preserved lemon, waiting ~30 seconds between each.
4. Start boiling water for the pasta. Only add a pinch of salt, if that; between the anchovies and the brine from the preserved lemon, this is going to be salty enough as is.
   Once boiling, add the fettuccine.
5. Once the anchovies have cooked down, turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the spinach and saute until wilted.
   You will probably have to do this in batches, but the spinach will cook down a lot. There should be enough liquid between the oil and preserved lemon pulp to do this without the pan getting dry, but add some of the pasta water if it does.
6. Remove the pasta from the water when it is just before al dente, and transfer to the pan. Stir and saute for a couple of minutes until the sauce has cooked down and coated the pasta.
   If there's a lot of liquid in the pan, add a pinch of semolina flour until it thickens.
7. Add the cheese, black pepper, and red pepper flakes on top.

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