Summer Snapper Spaghetti
A bright, seaside-inspired pasta bursting with tender snapper, garlicky chilli heat, briny anchovies, and zingy capers. Tossed with spaghetti in a light white wine and lemon sauce, it’s fresh, vibrant, and perfect for a sun-soaked lunch or dinner.
Summer Snapper Spaghetti
Servings: 2 Servings
A light yet flavourful seafood pasta highlighting fresh snapper, garlic, chilli, and the briny depth of anchovies and capers.
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- 400 g spaghetti
- Salt for seasoning
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 4 anchovy fillets plus a little of their oil
- 3 –4 garlic cloves
- Chilli flakes to taste
- 2 tbsp baby capers rinsed
- 150 g snapper fillet skinless and boneless
- 100 ml dry white wine
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- A small bunch of flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped
- Reserved pasta cooking water
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente. Season the water generously with salt to ensure it is well-flavoured and starchy.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat. The oil should coat the base of the pan. Add the anchovies along with a small amount of their oil, allowing them to melt into the olive oil.
- Smash and roughly chop the garlic cloves, then add them to the pan. Sprinkle in a good pinch of salt to help prevent the garlic from browning too quickly. Add the chilli flakes according to taste and stir gently to release their heat into the oil.
- Add the rinsed baby capers to the pan and continue to warm all the aromatics gently until fragrant. At this stage, the mixture should smell rich, spicy, and savoury.
- Pour in the white wine and allow it to simmer briefly, reducing slightly to meld with the aromatics. The wine adds acidity and depth to the sauce.
- Season the snapper fillet lightly with salt, then cut it into small pieces. Once the pasta is nearly ready, add the snapper to the sauce. The residual heat from the sauce and later the pasta will cook the fish delicately without drying it out.
- Add finely grated lemon zest and a small amount of lemon juice to the pan to brighten the dish. Reserve some juice to finish the dish at the end, if needed.
- Using tongs, transfer the cooked spaghetti directly into the sauce, allowing some of the starchy cooking water to carry over. Add a ladleful of the reserved pasta water to the pan to help emulsify the sauce and bring everything together.
- Add a generous handful of the chopped parsley to the pasta. Stir gently to combine, allowing the fish to break apart slightly and the sauce to coat the pasta evenly.
- Taste and adjust with more lemon juice or salt if required. Serve immediately in warm bowls.
