The keys to this dish are super-fresh anchovies, smelt, small herring or sardines, good olive oil and the bottarga, or you can use salt-cured egg yolks. I use shad roe here, but mullet roe is traditional.
20fresh anchovies,cleaned and lightly sprinkled with salt
flour for dredging
1pounddried spaghetti
1large shallot,minced
2tablespoonspine nuts,toasted in a dry pan
2tablespoonsdried barberries, cranberries or lingonberries
1/3cupfennel fronds,minced
1teaspoonsalt
1/4cupolive oil
1shot glassouzo(optional)
Bottarga or salt-cured egg yolks,for grating
Instructions
Heat a large frying pan over high heat for 1 minute. Add the olive oil, turn the heat down to medium-high and heat for another minute.
Begin cooking the spaghetti in a large pot of salted, boiling water; the water should taste like the sea.
Dredge the anchovies in flour, shake off the excess and fry in the oil until golden brown. They will not need more then 2 minutes per side for this, and probably less than that. Set fried anchovies aside on a paper towel.
Saute the shallots until browned, adding the pine nuts and barberries or craisins halfway through. Add the salt, then add 1/2 the fennel fronds and the shot of ouzo. Cook or flame off the alcohol and toss to combine. Add a little pasta water if it's too thick.
Toss this sauce with the cooked, drained pasta and dole out portions. Arrange the anchovies on top of the pasta, grate some bottarga or cured egg yolks over it all, then garnish with the remaining fennel fronds.