Bobby Flay’s Weeknight Pasta Is Impressive Enough for Ina Garten

Do you ever miss the golden days of food television where you could see just one person showing the average home cook how to make food in their own kitchen at any time of day? Think Ina Garten’s “The Barefoot Contessa,”  Rachael Ray’s “30-Minute Meals”, Jamie Oliver’s “The Naked Chef,” or Giada De Laurentiis’ “Giada at  Home.”

Now, cutthroat competition shows such as “Top Chef” with Gordon Ramsay or Guy Fieri’s “Guy’s Grocery Games” are what people tend to watch. That’s why Ina Garten’s HBO Max show “Be My Guest” is so refreshing. Ina invites people to her home to chat and cook with them. There’s no clock ticking down, no nervous look on anyone’s face as they wait for a judge to critique their cooking—no losers or winners.

Ina, whose memoir “Be Ready When the Luck Happens” was published earlier this month, recently had Bobby Flay as a guest on “Be My Guest,” and together, they made Fresh Pasta with Anchovy Butter and Chives, a recipe of Bobby’s.

When Bobby told her that cooking was how he “shows his adoration to people” and would make this pasta dish,  Ina replied, “I love anchovies, so you picked the right person, perfect.” 

Bobby Flay’s Fresh Pasta with Anchovy Butter and Chives

It’s simple to replicate this recipe in your own kitchen. Don’t be intimidated by the fresh pasta. You don’t have to make the pasta yourself. You can use a store-bought brand of fresh pasta, such as fettuccine, which is what the recipe calls for. The recipe uses six main ingredients plus some pantry staples. 

The main ingredients needed for this recipe are fresh pasta, butter, anchovies, garlic, lemon zest, and chives. The pantry staples include salt, pepper, and extra virgin olive oil. You’ll also need to save some of the pasta water. There’s an optional topping of toasted breadcrumbs made with panko and several of the other ingredients already used in the recipe. 

How to Make Bobby Flay’s Pasta Dish

If you can boil pasta and mix ingredients into soft butter, you already have all the skills you need to make this dish.

Here’s how to do it:

1. First, make a compound butter by combining 12 tablespoons of butter with 6 to 8 anchovies from a can in a food processor until they’re smooth. Season with salt and pepper and process another few seconds to mix in the seasonings. Set aside. 
2. Make the optional toasted breadcrumbs if you want to use them by heating one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a skillet. Add one finely chopped garlic clove and cook for about one minute, not letting it burn. Add the panko and stirring frequently, allow it to toast for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle with the zest of one lemon. Set aside. 
3. Next, cook the 6 ounces of store-bought fresh pasta according to package directions. When the pasta is done cooking, reserve about 2 cups of the pasta water and drain the rest. Transfer the drained pasta to a large skillet.
4. Then, add some pasta water and the compound butter to the skillet and toss to combine. Add more butter and pasta water, a little at a time, until you get the consistency that looks right to you. Mix in about 3 tablespoons of chopped chives. 
5. Finally, plate the pasta and drizzle with olive oil. Top each plate with the toasted bread crumbs, if you like.

If you love the idea of a simple pasta dish with anchovies but aren’t comfortable making a recipe that doesn’t have very specific, step-by-step directions, try our Sicilian Spaghetti Recipe, using butter instead of olive oil (or half butter, half olive oil) to give it the rich, buttery taste of Bobby’s recipe. 

Serve with a green salad and Italian bread to soak up the sauce left on the plate after the pasta is all gone. This is just the kind of recipe that’s easy yet impressive enough to serve to guests, making it one we’ll keep in our back pockets throughout the holiday season!