Claudia Roden’s recipe for pasta with black olive paste

This dish is strong in flavour so works best as a starter

• The 20 best recipes by Claudia Roden – in full

I love this pasta. Because the olive paste has a strong flavour, it is best to serve it in small portions as a first course. You must only use good-tasting pitted olives, such as the Italian gaetas or the Greek kalamatas (I find them pitted in some supermarkets).

Serves 4-6
pitted black olives 150g
anchovy fillets in oil 3, chopped
capers 2 tbsp, drained
garlic 2 cloves, crushed
rum 2-3 tbsp (optional)
extra virgin olive oil 5 tbsp
spaghetti or tagliatelle 400g
salt

Put all the olive paste ingredients in the food processor and blend just enough so that the paste is slightly rough rather than too smooth. Cook the tagliatelle in boiling salted water until done al dente, then drain and mix quickly with the paste.

From The Food of Italy (Vintage, £30). To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com

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